Star Wars: The Rebellion Strikes Back
by StoneKai99
Summary: Set immediately following Remnants of the Jedi, so if you haven't read that first YOU WILL BE LOST! Story follows the early Rebel Alliance members as they continue to garner supplies and support for the war effort against the Empire.
1. Scroll

**I wrote this roughly five years after I wrote Remnants at the suggestion/urging of my nephew. At his request I told him the story of the first book (since he wasn't in to reading back then) and ideas just started flowing from there! Hope you enjoy it. Again Star Wars is not mine, that would be nice though!**

* * *

 **STAR WARS**

 **THE REBELLION STRIKES BACK**

Turmoil has struck the newly forged Rebel  
Alliance! Although Vader's flagship, the Jedi Hunter I,  
was destroyed the rebels suffered heavy losses during the  
evacuation from the Sullust Moon. With the Imperial fleet now  
pursuing them throughout the galaxy, the leaders of the Alliance are  
desperately searching for a secret location to serve as their new base.

Hoping to prevent the Rebel's ability to make war,  
Emperor Palpatine has asked the Senate to vote to nationalize  
the shipbuilding industry. However one of the galaxy's most prominent  
manufacturers, the Incom Corporation, has secretly begun construction on a  
new starfighter design. Purchased discreetly by a third party buyer not loyal to the  
Empire, once completed these new fighters could wreak havoc on the Imperial Navy.

On the planetoid Polis Massa, Rebel officer Major  
Reac Garan is keeping a constant vigil over a patient in a  
secured wing of the medical facility. As the doctors and medical  
droids work diligently to save the young woman from her grave injuries,  
Garan remains hopeful that the patient will survive. Suddenly a shockwave  
of energy emanates from the bacta tank as the patient awakens during surgery!


	2. Prologue

_Empire Day: Plus One_

The news came over the holonet like an exploding sun! The holoprojector replayed the image from yesterday of Chancellor Palpatine addressing the Senate. People all around the galaxy watched in astonishment as the scarred Supreme Chancellor gave his speech.

"The Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, to ensure a safe and securer society!"

It was this address that persuaded Cin Kesaro, of the planet Ryndori, to request a meeting with the Prime Minister. Kesaro, who was renowned throughout the planet as an expert on military history, strategy and tactics, had held the rank of Commander in the Ryndorian military for several years. This rank gave Kesaro command over the entire Ryndori Navy, a military force that had not a single capital ship and few starfighters to its disposal. Thus his rank has held at commander, with no actual naval forces Kesaro was never seen fit to be promoted to admiral. While the planet had not seen any major conflict within five hundred years; Kesaro had studied military and galactic history diligently on Coruscant before entering the military on his home planet.

Since his childhood Kesaro's attention was highly focused on military history once he learned of his homeworld's last conflict. A civil war that nearly brought the planet to its knees. Every school around the planet taught history lessons about the war that reshaped their world into the peaceful civilization in which they now existed. At first young Kesaro wasn't too keen on learning about something that happened nearly five centuries ago until he saw his family name in his text book!

* * *

The civil war was fought over possession of the vast resources of Ryndori's mountainous regions. Almost three quarters of the planet's terrain consisted of mountains which held several mineral deposits. The alloy mined from the deposits were used for building materials, ships, vehicles and many other uses.

Located several parsecs outside the Corellian Trade Spine near the edge of the Unknown Regions, Ryndori remained virtually isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Very seldom did the planet get visitors or its human inhabitants venture out into the rest of the galaxy.

Years before the war Ryndori would however discreetly trade metals for Tibanna gas mined on Bespin. After seeing the multitude of other species that came to purchase or trade other goods with Bespin much of Ryndori's population began to suggest that they strike out and explore more of the galaxy. However to build a fleet of ships for such an exploration threatened to drain Ryndori of its resources. The government had no objections to exploring the galaxy but not on such a scale that could cripple their own infrastructure. It would also hinder plans the government had already set in motion.

While the mountain ranges were vast they were heavily populated; during winter months there was no escape as the roads and passes were blocked by heavy snow. Even airships and speeders could not fly to or from the mountain cities due the weather. While the people were trapped for the winter they lived normally in the sprawling high altitude villages. The region supported fresh fish via its many mountain lakes and was alive with animal life.

The government had intended to build an underground highway system designed to access the mountain villages during the winter and unite the rest of the planet. The Prime Minister at the time wanted his people to be able to freely explore their home year round. However the explorer groups wouldn't back down, after months of negotiation they seceded from the Ryndorian government and started the war. They called themselves the Confederacy for Ryndorian Exploration or CRE, most of their leaders were descendants of the first miners who discovered the planet's mineral deposits. The confederacy's leaders knew that Faspen City, the planet's capital, would be forced to send its engineers into the mountains if they planned to build their highway. So they raised an army among the mountain villages and prepared for battle. With no choice but to put down the confederacy Faspen City sent in its army into the mountains before the passes were blocked by snow. With the most populated villages under confederacy control their supply lines were easily ambushed. Faspen City dared not continue to send men up every winter. The war would last twelve years, after their first defeat an unofficial cease fire would occur every winter.

Faspen City was located in one of the few regions of sloping valleys nestled in between the mountain ranges. It was well fortified and easily defended as it housed a military air base. While no space faring vessels were used in the war the air base held a large compliment of armed air speeders.

After the first winter when the Confederacy slaughtered Faspen City's mountain convoy the air speeder pilots geared up for payback. The following spring they took flight and bombarded the confederate mountain villages. The CRE dug in deep forcing Faspen City to come in on foot. During the winters when the war was at a stand still the CRE organized and planned missions to sneak into Faspen City in disguise to sabotage their air speeders for once spring came. The tables turned every season for eleven years with no end in sight, until one day a young Lieutenant named Gabriel Kesaro proposed a daring plan.

Gabriel who was a miner himself had dreams of seeing the galaxy as well but never wanted to split his home planet in two to achieve it. He sided with Faspen City when the war started and served as a recon guide for the army. He was also the best free hand climber on the entire planet.

His plan was to sneak himself and four others into the mountains just before the storms hit blocking them off for the winter. He knew of several uninhabited caverns that they could take shelter in until the snow began to melt. Three months later he and his men would sneak into a confederate village, which served as a lookout post, and set thermal charges.

His plan worked, they disabled the post before the confederates were on to them. Kesaro and his men occupied the post for two weeks without incident, when the pass to the lookout post cleared Faspen City's army had a convoy of men twice the size that they'd sent up the summer before. They linked up with Kesaro's men where he was promoted on the spot to the rank of Captain. The next day several drop ships from Faspen City dropped tanks and other vehicles near the lookout post ready to push for the CRE headquarters. The campaign lasted all through the following summer into fall. By the end of the twelfth year the CRE leaders were captured in their hidden bunker in the mountain city of Rhewi after a raid led by Captain Gabriel Kesaro. However Faspen City wouldn't learn of its victory until spring of the next year when their forces came down from the mountains.

That summer detachments of the military occupied the mountains to ensure further pockets of resistance were put down. Ryndori's Prime Minister immediately issued an order that no member of the CRE was to serve prison time. He wanted his people to forget the dark days that were now behind them and continue to live peacefully together. As such he initiated two projects to begin immediately.

The first was that the mountain villages that were destroyed be rebuilt as a sign of goodwill and the second that construction of the underground highway begin immediately. Instead of prison time the members of the CRE served a sentence helping to build the highway. The Prime Minister made sure the CRE members were treated and fed well during their sentence and once completed they were free to return to their previous lives before the war. It took five years to build the highway and by the time it was done very few seemed to remember the war.

* * *

When confirmed by his parents that he was in fact a descendant of Gabriel Kesaro, young Cin not only excelled in history class but couldn't get enough of it. Once he graduated with a major in history he traveled his homeworld for three years spending most of his time in the mountains learning to climb and visiting the sites where his ancestor had fought. When he finally came home to Faspen City he told his parents he wanted to apply to the military academy one day but not before he studied at the university on the Republic Capital.

"Coruscant!?" His father had said somewhat surprised.

"Yes think of the knowledge there I can learn. Not just about other individual planets but the history of our entire galaxy!" Cin replied.

The next season Cin boarded a transport to Coruscant. It was the first time he'd flown in space and for a moment he realized there may be two great passions in his life. However he remained focused and spent four years on Coruscant learning about other planets, their species, cultures and their history. He was especially intrigued by the formation of the Republic and how it governed itself and the role that the Jedi Order played in its protection. During his summers back home he took flying lessons in air speeders and his trips to and from Ryndori and Coruscant kept him dreaming of piloting his own craft in space.

By time he graduated and left Coruscant he was twenty-five years of age, as planned he applied to the military academy and continued his path into aviation. He excelled in the military and became a skillful pilot, he took his first solo flight into space during his second year at the academy.

By the time word had spread to Ryndori about the Trade Federation's occupation of Naboo Kesaro was a Lt Colonel. Because Ryndori wasn't part of the Republic they had no direct access to the Holonet; they received word from the crew of their trade ships that came back from Bespin. Kesaro flew to Bespin to find out more information about the situation, he was curious as to what was occurring. What struck him as odd was when he found out that the Republic wasn't responding to the situation. While Naboo was three times the distance from Ryndori to Bespin Kesaro wondered if they should expand their naval forces. When he returned he proposed that very thing but was turned down.

Ten years later when the Clone Wars began he was fearful that they would reach Ryndori's borders. He put forth his proposition once more but was again turned down. By this time Kesaro had held the rank of Commander for four years. While frustrated that the government wasn't taking him seriously he began to intensify the training to the men under his command. It was the most he could do, he figured at least the men would be more prepared for an attack even if the equipment wasn't. While his fellow officers thought his training techniques were too intense, Kesaro's company were the most decorated men in the Ryndorian military.

However as the Chancellor's address began Kesaro was hopeful that the rumors of the Clone Wars end were true. He immediately flew to Bespin to watch the Chancellor's address to the Senate. Unfortunately his hopes were doused when he learned of the formation of the Empire. He soon realized things have only begun to get worse.

It was only a few hours after his return before Kesaro was allowed an audience with the planet's leader and his staff. As he is escorted into the Prime Minister's main audience chamber he prepares to convey his fears that war may soon breach their peaceful planet. He is received with cordial greetings and friendly smiles as he takes his place at the center podium. He respectfully bows and thanks the Prime Minister for seeing him on such short notice. He is about to speak when General Marin of the Ryndorian Army enters the room for the briefing as well.

"My friends it is with great concern that I asked to speak to you today. I fear that Ryndori is greatly overestimating our ability to defend herself."

While some of the staff members exchange curious glances the Prime Minister remains vigil. "We've been through this twice before Commander." The Prime Minister states.

"I'm know Sir, the first time we met like this I know you made the right decision. However the last time when the Clone Wars started I believe my intuition was right and even more so today." Kesaro replied.

"I know you were worried that the Clone Wars would reach Ryndori but we have been fortunate not to have seen it." states the Prime Minister.

"I agree, but with the Republic undergoing this transformation...I think it would be wise to expand our military forces now. While our primary military base near Faspen City is well fortified and prepared for any attack, our naval forces is an area where we are severely lacking." Kesaro states.

"He's got a point Prime Minister..." General Marin steps in. "...Faspen City airbase is fortified from the ground but with very few starfighters to protect it I don't see us withstanding a large scale attack."

The high council discusses this for a moment as Kesaro retakes the floor.

"I am not suggesting that we get involved with the changes surrounding the Republic; Ryndori has governed itself peacefully outside of the Republic for centuries. I am simply requesting that we take action to expand our defensive capabilities. Especially while we are unnoticed and have the time." With no way to tell which way the Prime Minister and his council are going to reply Kesaro steps in again. "My friends you all know my credentials, how many years I spent studying history. Not just our history but galactic history, all the wars that have been fought and for all the different reasons large and small. Through my studies I've learned that some of the worst situations occur because they were feared the least, or not paid the proper attention. My own ancestor fought in our own civil war and we've been lucky to have lived in peace for so long, maybe even fortunate. That just doesn't last forever, especially when there are outside forces we cannot control!"

"It would be tragic if our beautiful planet was tarnished by war..." one of the council members states.

"...even more so if we did not take advantage of the time we had to further ensure its protection." the Prime Minister finishes the thought. "I agree with Commander Kesaro, we cannot act like fools and pretend that we'll always be safe and unnoticed. What kind of plans did you have in mind?"

As before he suggest to build a new fleet of starfighters. "Sir, the fighters we have now are laughable at best. Most are more than thirty years old and have been rebuilt and repaired more times than I care to think about. As such very few still have functioning shields and none have independent hyperdrives."

"About time to trade up then?"

"Far too long sir..." Kesaro replies to the prime minister. "..however Ryndori doesn't currently have the resources nor the capability to design and manufacture a top rate fighter ourselves." Kesaro goes on to suggest that they begin looking at independent ship builders not under the control of the Empire or other questionable organizations. "Once we find a suitable candidate we meet with them and discuss terms for them to design and build a fleet of starfighters for us. While the price for their service might be substantial it will be worth it in the long run."

"Agreed." the Prime Minister replies. "You will have your funds as well an emissary of this government to represent Ryndori during your search."

"Me Sir? You want me to lead the operation?" Kesaro says taken aback.

"Its your plan, your idea. I see no one more suited for the project."

"Thank you Prime Minister, I am honored."

"It is you who honor us Commander; by your devotion to this planet's safety. I will have a ship prepared for your journey ready to launch tomorrow. The emissary will meet your there, good luck Commander." says the Prime Minister as he adjourns the meeting.

"Thank you Sir." Kesaro leaves the chamber and heads for his quarters to pack for his trip.

The next day Kesaro reports to the designated landing pad where an eight passenger yacht is being fueled for take off. The first to arrive after Kesaro is another officer of the Ryndorian military.

"Lt. Cale Webt reporting for duty Sir."

Kesaro returns the salute and wonders if the Lt. has possibly reported to the wrong ship.

"I am assigned as security detail for the emissary Sir." Webt states.

"Ah I see, go ahead and secure the ship Lt, then man your post." Kesaro replies.

The young officer hesitates understanding that his post is protecting the ship and its passengers.

"Lieutenant, the jump seat in the cockpit." Kesaro states.

"Ah yes sir, sorry sir." Webt says embarrassed.

As the Lt. boards the ship Kesaro notices two young women, one obviously a handmaiden to the other, making their way towards the ship. The first woman bows and introduces herself and Consul Lamara Harke, Emissary to the Prime Minister of Ryndori.

"I'm proud to serve at your side Commander as we venture to ensure our planet's safety." Harke says. After Kesaro extends his greeting Harke introduces her assistant Yaren. "She's primarily here for my assistance, you won't even know she's here."

After confirming that her security detail is already on the ship, Kesaro suggests they climb aboard for takeoff. Once everyone has taken their seat, Consul Harke asks what their first destination is.

"I've been researching the industry's most prominent manufacturers. Since we want to be as anonymous as possible I think our best shot is with Incom..."

"So we're headed for Fresia then?" Harke assumes.

"Not quite, Incom's shipyards and manufacturing plant are located on Fresia not the executive offices...we're on our way to the Coruscant."

* * *

 **So for this book I wanted to create my own planet which I had not done before. That's why this chapter focuses on Ryndori and it's history because it will be crucial to the story later. Enjoy**


	3. Implementing the Plan

Several hours later the yacht erupts from hyperspace within view of the capital planet. As the pilot begins his descent into the planet's atmosphere Kesaro opens a comm to the cockpit.

"Lt Webt can you come back here please." Kesaro says summoning him. Seconds later the young Lt. emerges from the cockpit and takes a seat as ordered. "You all know why were here, what our mission objective is. What I need to know from you is if you're all aware of what's happening in the Republic?" As he receives the affirmative from his entourage he states how much he'd would have like to avoided coming to Coruscant. "There's a radical change going on here right now, and we're about to land right in the center of it. At all cost we must do nothing to draw attention to ourselves or Ryndori. Webt you'll need to have that blaster concealed, and neither you nor Yaren are to address us by title or rank."

"I understand." Webt and Yaren says in unison.

"Good, just let Consul Harke and I do the talking and act as our assistants." Kesaro replies.

Once the yacht lands Kesaro gives strict instructions to the pilots to stay within view of the ship and to have a comlink on the entire time. Harke and Yaren disembark first, as Webt, now dressed in civilian clothing, prepares to step off the ramp Kesaro asks if he's properly concealed his weapon.

"Yes Sir." Webt states as he opens the lower lapel of his jacket revealing a standard size blaster. "Just in case, I also have this." Webt states extracting a half size blaster on a slide from within his left sleeve.

"Crafty." Kesaro states.

"Always be prepared." Webt replies as he and the Commander disembark.

Kesaro, now also wearing non military clothing, leads the group to an air taxi which takes them to Incom's main office. As the taxi makes its way towards its destination it passes by the Senate building.

"I'm surprised there's not already a statue of Palpatine on the top of the Senate building." Kesaro states.

"Why do you distrust the Chancellor so much Comman..." Harke says correcting herself. "...Cin, may I call you Cin?"

"Yes of course. And I don't trust him because it makes no sense to reorganize the Republic after they won the war. Even if the so called assassination attempt by the Jedi Order were true. I don't see the reasoning to reform and entire galaxy's governing body!"

"You don't believe the report about the Jedi insurgency?" Harke asks.

"Not at all, before I entered the Ryndorian Army I attended a university here on Coruscant. I also spent time learning about the Jedi Order and its history, I even met a few back then and they seemed genuinely passive and friendly. However I have no proof one way or the other but I still don't trust Palpatine. Something much deeper went on here to cause all these radical changes." Kesaro sighs heavily then says. "I won't worry too much about the Empire as long as they stay away from Ryndori."

"I'll agree to that." Harke adds.

Once they arrive at Incom's office headquarters Kesaro requests to speak with an executive sales representative. After a short wait a tall human comes to greet them and inquires about the reason for their visit. Kesaro requests to speak in private with the businessman, as the executive leads them to his office Kesaro orders Webt and Yaren to remain in the lobby. Once the office doors are closed Kesaro introduces himself and Harke without their rank. The representative introduces himself as Senior Executive Gerak Kab then offers them both to take a seat.

"So what can I do for you today?" Kab asks.

Kesaro states that he and his colleague are wishing to purchase the services of Incom to design and build a large quantity of ships. "We would greatly appreciate a chance to meet with one of your top design engineers to work out the details." Kesaro says.

"Of course that can be arranged, may I inquire what type of ships you are looking to purchase?" Kab replies.

Kesaro hesitates then states for the time being that they would like to keep that information classified. "I apologize if our methods seem mysterious but we can assure you that our intentions are honorable. You might also be interested that money is of no concern, however discretion is a top priority."

"I see, I don't mean to pry but I have the feeling you're in the market for warships." Kab observes. Kesaro shifts in his seat somewhat uneasy, as he does Kab raises his hands apologetically. "My apologies, if money is no object then I'm happy to assist. However our head design officer is stationed at our manufacturing plant on the planet Fresia. I can schedule a meeting for you there with him as well as a financial officer to work out the details of your order." Kab offers.

Kesaro accepts the offer and states they can be on Fresia by tomorrow. Kab gives them the coordinates on Fresia then stands and shakes hands with both Kesaro and Harke. As Kab is about to escort them out of his office Kesaro reminds Kab that they require complete anonymity for the duration of their the transaction.

"Until we strike a deal your office will have no record of our visit correct?" Kesaro asks.

"Absolutely Mr. Kesaro."

* * *

Nearly twenty hours later the Ryndorian yacht arrives out of hyperspace over Fresia, once inside the planet's atmosphere the pilot comms back to Kesaro requesting landing coordinates. Kesaro provides the coordinates and states the location is a few clicks south of the Afterburner Arches, a famous landmark on Fresia. Harke and Yaren both admire the landmark as the ship passes over it, once over it they spot the Incom shipyards and the manufacturing plant. As the ship makes its descent to the landing pad Kesaro notices a welcoming party already awaiting them.

The group debarks and a young female Yuzzem escorts them to a small conference room. "Senior design engineer Fayden Ka'quesh is eager to meet with you Mr Kesaro; he will be with you shortly." the hostess states.

Waiting for them in the room is a blue female Twi'lek and a human male both dressed in business attire.

"Welcome to Incom Mr. Kesaro, my name is Emy Deplimir I am the financial representative assigned to your transaction." The Twi'lek says. "This is Tane Prasua, he is the junior executive appointed by Mr. Kab which you met on Coruscant."

Kesaro introduces his entourage and exchanges greetings with both the representatives, as before he instructs Yaren and Webt to remain outside the conference room.

"Mr. Kab made it very clear that you wish your transaction with us to be under complete anonymity. As such this conference room is sound proof and is free of any recording devices." Deplimir states just as a male Mon Calamarian enters the room.

Deplimir introduces him as Fayden Ka'quesh to the potential customers. Once everyone takes their seats the room is sealed and a small electromagnetic pulse is discharged from the center of the ceiling.

"What was that?" Harke asks.

"EMP pulse." Prasua says. "It shorts our any recording devices, we use it for our anonymous customers such as yourself to ensure them that any recording devices are nonexistent in the room."

"We appreciate that." Kesaro says.

As Ka'quesh pulls out a holopad he asks what kind of design they have in mind for their purchase. Kesaro replies stating they wish for Incom to create a new design of starfighter not linked to any other design currently in production nor found in any known culture.

"We don't wish to reveal too many details but we need new starfighters to enhance our planetary defenses. We can assure you that these fighters will never be used in any form of aggression or attack against another system."

"Do you fear an attack on your planet?" Prasua asks.

"Not at the moment." Kesaro says as he looks to Consul Harke.

"Our planet hasn't seen war in five centuries, we have been blessed by that. However even with word that the Clone Wars are over we felt we should take advantage of the peace time to further ensure our planet would be capable to repel an attack." Harke states. "No matter who the invaders might be."

"I understand, but while I can respect your request for anonymity I wonder why you are taking such action to keep this a secret." Prasua says.

Kesaro hesitates for a moment trying to choose his words wisely. He states that while their planet isn't even in the Republic nor currently in the midst of war; they do not want to be seen as if they're gearing up for one.

"I completely agree with your point of view Mr. Kesaro." Deplimir replies.

"So a new design, that always makes my job more fun." Ka'quesh says in a throaty voice and a smile. "Any specifics you would like for the fighter itself?"

"Well, shields are a must as well as high powered repeating blaster cannons. Proton torpedoes, astromech droid socket, one man crew, oh and individual hyperdrives without the use of a booster rig." Kesaro says listing off some particulars.

"That will cost more but it can be done." Ka'quesh says taking notes on his holopad. "Size?"

"Moderate but not too big." Kesaro replies

"How many units?" The Incom representatives eyes widen when they hear Kesaro request five hundred units.

"How long would that take to build that many?" Harke asks.

Ka'quesh states that design and production of the prototype would take nearly a month. After that he states test phases would run two standard weeks if all goes well.

"I would like to have two or three of my best pilots present during those test phases; to provide their opinions." Kesaro says.

"That's not a problem." Prasua replies."We have visitors quarters for just such instances."

"Once the prototype is sound I project..." Ka'quesh says crunching his numbers. "Six months. Our ships are built by an assembly line, of course if you wish to have a small group of fighters finished early that can be arranged too. However that would extend the remainder of the order to eight or nine months as we would focus our efforts on the first installment. Say twenty-five, could be done in eight to ten weeks." Kesaro thinks for a moment and decides the idea is sound.

"That'll work, it will give our pilots a chance to log some flight time and learn the intricacies of the ship."

"Very good, Fayden and his design team will get to work on it first thing tomorrow." Prasua states.

"What will be the total cost?" Harke inquires.

Deplimir proceeds to inform the group that they won't know the exact price until the prototype is completed and ready for manufacture on a large scale. She quickly crunches some numbers on her datapad and states a down payment of two hundred thousand credits will be required.

"The down payment funds are used for the production of the prototype and testing purposes, typically there's plenty of credits leftover which will spill into the order itself." Deplimir informs.

"We'd like to invite you to stay on Fresia for a few days while Fayden and his team work out a design template for you."Prasua says. "That way you can be here firsthand to approve the design and have any questions answered by our staff."

Kesaro accepts the offer and hands Deplimir a piece of flimsi with an account number on it; which has a credit line suitable to cover the down payment. Deplimir thanks them for their business and opens the conference room doors. She summons the young Yuzzem hostess once more and instructs her to see that their guests are seen comfortably to the visitors quarters.

"We'll summon you once Fayden has his first design drafts ready for you to view. Until then feel free to leave the shipyard and explore Fresia, you might enjoy the Coromon Islands." Deplimir says turning them over to the hostess.

As he is shown to his quarters Kesaro asks if Harke would like to be present when he reports their progress to Ryndori. She accepts and has Yaren take her things to her quarters.

"We'll need to use the long range transmitter on the ship." Kesaro states leading Harke back to the landing platform.

They climb on board and order the pilot to open a channel to Ryndori. They inform the Prime Minister and his staff that they've successfully come to a deal with the Incom Corporation.

"I assure you, Prime Minister, that they have been very cooperative with our request that the transaction stay anonymous. As well as that the fighter design in no way will link it to another planet or organization."

"Very good Commander, however its seems too easy that you struck a deal with your first candidate." the Prime Minister replies.

"I see your point Sir but I did my research. They are one of the best manufacturers in the galaxy. However if it assuages your concern, the Incom representatives did not even inquire to what planet we're from." Kesaro replies.

"Much less where its located." Harke adds.

The Prime Minister thinks for a moment then agrees that the venture sounds promising. "Okay proceed as you see fit Commander, when shall we expect your return?"

"Two or three days, they've invited us to stay so we can approve a design." Kesaro states.

"Very good, we'll see you then Commander, Consul. Ryndori out."

The next day Kesaro and Harke are summoned to Ka'quesh's office where he has several holoprojectors open displaying new designs.

"I'm glad you're here, as you can see I have five rough drafts ready for you." Ka'quesh says and he points to the holos. "As you might notice none of them are remnant to any current mass produced starship."

"They are unlike anything I've ever seen, very impressive." Kesaro says.

"Let me know if there's a specific one you like, feel free to venture any opinions. If you'd like to see two or more designs spliced together that can be done as well." Ka'quesh says.

Kesaro points out one specifically that he notices, the fighter sports triple fins with a long slender nose leading from the cockpit out. He rotates the image on the projector to look at all angles. The design has triple engines, two primary below with a third slightly smaller that looks like a backup stationed above the other two.

"I like this one but I think the dorsal wing should be slightly smaller than the other two. Also can we move the astromech socket from the port side to directly behind the cockpit?"

Ka'quesh immediately transfers the image from its projector to his primary holopad laid out on his desk. He uses a stylus to make the requested changes then moves the image back to its original projector.

"Yes that looks much better, I'm assuming the bigger engines link into the hyperdrive?" Kesaro asks.

"Yes, the hyperdrive will be located in a lower hatch below the two primary turbines that can be pulled out on a sliding under-carriage for easy access. The third is the primary impulse turbine but can be used in tandem with the others." Ka'quesh replies.

Kesaro spends the better part of the next four hours working with the Mon Calamarian on the design. Once the design template comes into its final draft Ka'quesh goes through a final checklist of the design specs to ensure it meets with his client's approval. At the bottom of the list is a space for the ship's class.

"I hope you approve, I classified the ship as a T-55 Sabre." Ka'quesh states. "Although I left out the customary Incom name and logo as you requested."

"I do indeed approve and the design looks excellent. I can't wait to see it on the landing pad!" Kesaro says excitedly.

"I'm glad you like it, we'll begin work on the prototype tomorrow and we'll be in contact once she's in the final stages of construction." Ka'quesh replies.

After returning to his quarters Kesaro decides to inform his entourage that the plan is in action. He walks down the corridor to find his colleagues gathered in the main living area. While he had been working with Ka'quesh Lt. Webt escorted the Consul and her handmaiden on a tour to the Afterburner Arches. Kesaro didn't mind however, he enjoyed working on the fighter template with the Mon Calamarian designer. He had assumed that the work was too boring for the Consul and her handmaiden

"We have a design template, the T-55 Sabre!" He says entering the room.

"Sounds sleek" Webt says.

"It is indeed Lieutenant, I know our pilots will be anxious to begin training with them." Kesaro replies.

"You seem anxious yourself." Harke states.

"I am, there won't be a starfighter like this anywhere else in the galaxy!"

The next morning Kesaro and the others board their yacht for the trip back to Ryndori.

"This is truly exciting." Harke says.

"Indeed, in a week or two we'll get to see the Sabre in its early stages of construction." Kesaro says looking out his window as the yacht emerges from Fresia's atmosphere. "I just hope we don't find out that we waited too long to initiate this endeavor." Kesaro sighs as moments later the ship jumps into hyperspace.


	4. Returned from the Netherworld

"She's awake!"

While monitoring a patient in critical condition Dr. Pell is nearly knocked to the floor as a wave of energy is discharged from within the bacta tank. It destroys glass vials, knocks over instrument trays and even shatters one of the viewing windows. As Pell regains her footing she realizes that the patient is not awake at all but experiencing some kind of seizure! She orders the surgeon droid to stabilize her as she notices the curled toes and arced back almost jolting the patient out of the submerged gurney. The patient's eyes are widened beyond belief as if she was being electrocuted, almost as soon as it had occurred it was over. Before the droid could inject her with a sedative the patient's eyes closed as she slumps back into the gurney within the bacta tank. The droid puts away the needle and checks her vitals then continues with the surgery on her abdomen.

When the patient was brought in two days ago the doctors and medical droids could not understand how the girl had survived her injuries. However they quickly admitted her into the emergency trauma room and began working to save her life. It was plainly obvious to both the doctors and the droids that the girl had been impaled through the lower abdomen. Using cloning technology the medical droids began rebuilding the girl's stomach lining and lower intestines one cell at a time.

"Aside from that incident the patient seems to be stable Doctor." the surgeon droid states. "I estimate a seventy-seven percent chance that the patient will still recover fully.

"Keep a close eye on her MD-47." Pell says. "There's much more going on here than her physical injuries."

"Of course Doctor." The droid replies.

Dr Pell walks into the waiting area directly across from the operating room to find Major Raec Garan of the newly born Rebellion. Seeing the doctor headed his way Garan stands from his seated position eager to hear of any news on the patient's condition.

"How is she?" Garan asks.

"I'm not quite sure what happened but she seemed to wake up for a moment." Pell states still confused.

"She's awake?" Garan replies excitedly.

"No, she's still out but her vitals are stable; we'll be keeping a closer eye on her for the next few hours." Pell explains. "I . . .I think she released some kind of Force energy."

"What?"

"She seemed to be experiencing a seizure of some kind . . ." Pell continues explaining the incident to Garan. "I don't know how to explain it but if things continue as they are she should come out okay."

"Thank the Force." Garan says almost to tears.

He was the one who brought the patient in two days ago after the evacuation from their base on the third moon of Sullust. As Garan walks back to his quarters two janitorial droids arrive to clean up the shattered glass. Once he arrives within his quarters he opens a comm channel to Alderaan and the image of Senator Bail Organa appears.

"Senator, there's a good chance she's going to pull through." Garan says.

Organa sighs heavily with relief and he is told the news, "That's very good news Reac, let me know when she's conscious."

"Yes Sir." Garan replies as the image disappears. Garan then opens his locker and pulls out a lightsaber hilt and holds it tightly. "This won't become a relic just yet; you'll make it Jori. I know you will."

* * *

The patient he'd brought in was Jedi Jori Kai, Padawan learner to Jedi Knight Ryaan Táj. Both Ryaan and Jori had been slain by Darth Vader during the battle on the third moon of Sullust. However when Garan and his officers were escaping the moon he found Jori's body on the landing pad. Even though he assumed she was dead he found she had a faint pulse and brought her to the rendezvous point on Polis Massa. By the time he had returned to Polis Massa again he was greeted with news that while still critical Jori was still alive somehow.

"It's the Force..." Garan had told Dr. Pell. "….either she's using it to heal herself or it's protecting her."

"Maybe it's both." Dr Pell replies reassuring Garan they're watching over her closely.

It was two days after the seizure before Jori opened her eyes again, her vitals were elevating closer and closer to normal as the days went by. Garan was finally allowed into intensive care to see her, he squatted down next to the wide cylindrical bacta tank that she was in and placed his hand on the transparisteel. She slowly opened her eyes and looked over to her visitor, he could tell she was still groggy and didn't quite know who or what she was looking at.

He was happy just the same that he was able to save one of the Jedi; shortly after he arrived with her on Polis Massa he was called away to Dantooine on a mission. He had received word from Gleim, a friend of the Jedi, that help was needed there where an exiled Jedi Master was racing home to save his son from Darth Vader. Unfortunately the former Jedi, Ranik Solusar, also fell under Vader's blade that day.

"Rest now." He said as he left the room with a smile on his face.

* * *

Late the next day after receiving the hourly scan by MD-47, Dr. Pell decided it was time to remove Jori from the bacta tank. Once she was gently removed from the tank and washed of its liquid she was placed on a bed in recovery. Dr. Pell instructed the droid to summon Major Garan to the room before they use a stimulant to awaken her. Garan arrives promptly glad to see Jori out of the tank.

"How is she doing?" He says as he looks over her features.

Her skin was pale, her hair was still wet from the bacta liquid and she looked much thinner than before she was injured.

"Excellent considering her condition when you brought her to us," Pell says responding to the question. "...however I'm not sure if we'll be able to wake her up. If she's still in a Jedi healing trance like you theorized she may not awaken until she's ready." Pell explains.

"I understand, proceed Doctor."

Pell nods to MD-47 who gives Jori a stimulant, at the first sign of consciousness Dr. Pell shines a small light in her eyes.

"Jori can you hear me?" Pell says continuing to keep an eye on her vitals.

Jori slowly opens her eyes but sees only a blurry white light and dozes back out to sleep.

"Is she alright?" Garan asks worried.

"Yes, she's just groggy and weak. We'll let her sleep, she should come around in a few hours." Pell replies assuring Garan. "Until then we're going put her on an IV drip and pump in some vitamin supplements and boost her adrenaline slightly. She'll feel much better later." Pell states.

Garan remains in the recovery room for the better part of the next six hours along with MD-47 who checks Jori's vitals every hour. By the seventh hour Jori begins to come around as she feels the warm synthflesh hands of MD-47 as he checks her pulse. Garan now slumped in his chair asleep, is awakened by MD-47 per his earlier request. He stretches from the uncomfortable position as he sees Jori stirring in her bed.

"Where am I?" Jori says still groggy.

Garan turns on the an overhead light and orders MD-47 to find Dr. Pell.

"I was just about to Sir." The droid replies.

"Your in the medical center on Polis Massa." Still adjusting to the light Jori squints her eyes as they focus on Garan's image.

"Ma . . . Major Garan?" Jori says with her hand shading her eyes. "Wh . . . what happened, how did I get here?"

"I brought you here from the Sullust moon base..." Garan says just as Dr. Pell enters. Garan remains quiet as Pell and the medical droid run through a general examination on Jori.

"Looks like you're gonna make a full recovery Jori, you gave us quite a scare the other day though." Pell says as MD-47 completes the examination.

"I did?" Jori says still feeling a little dizzy.

"You bolted awake during surgery in the bacta tank and . . .we think you emanated some kind of shockwave?" Pell describes the incident.

"I what!?" Jori says with an apparent headache.

"Doctor if your finished I think it's time I brief Jori." Garan suggests. "There's a lot she needs to know."

"Of course, I'll leave MD-47 here for observation." Pell says as she leaves the room.

"Can someone turn off that overhead light and what in the name of the Force happened?" Jori says looking at Garan.

Garan switches off the overhead as MD-47 switches on a smaller lamp across the room.

"Thanks 47, is that better?" Garan asks.

"Yeah." Jori says trying to compose herself.

"What do you remember?" Garan asks as he presses a switch to elevate the bed slightly.

Jori recounts her last memories before waking up on Polis Massa, including the battle of the Sullust moon. She also remembers fighting the clones then . . .she hesitates for a moment as she begins to replay in her head the duel she had with Darth Vader.

As she remembers being run through by Vader's lightsaber she suddenly feels the sensation in her abdomen. She sits forward appearing to be in pain as she pulls off the covers and lifts her gown up to see her stomach. She touches her abdomen not seeing a single scar, suddenly a shocking thought enters her mind! Confused by the sensation she looks up at Garan and asks if she has been cloned.

"Heavens, no! They just used cloning technology to repair your stomach lining but you are still _you_ Jori." Garan explains.

"I still feel the blade inside me." She says with her hands placed over her belly.

"That's just your redundant memories catching up with you, it will pass." MD-47 steps in.

"Redundant!" Jori scowls at the remark from the droid as she lays back and pulls the covers up to her shoulders trying to relax. "She said I discharged a shockwave?" Jori says still confused.

"No one was hurt but it tore the place up a bit. It was a Force tremor right?" Garan says.

Jori closes her eyes and opens her mind to the force then suddenly feels the exact sensation experienced during the tremor.

"I felt them and heard their voices..." Jori says as she listens to her senses.

Garan quietly watches on as she delves deeper into her subconscious. "Master Kenobi...Ranik, Master Ryaan, and Vader . . ." Her voice trembles as she utters Vader's name. ". . .and there's another voice I don't recognize." Jori says.

" _Where are you Master_?" says the unknown voice she hears in her subconscious.

As she comes out of meditation she quickly realizes Ryaan is not with her. She looks at Garan and asks where Ryaan and Ranik are.

Reluctantly Garan replies, "They're gone Jori, Vader killed them."

Jori tries to hold her composure as her eyes begin to tear.

"I'm so sorry Jori." Realizing there's nothing more he could say Garan remains silent until Jori is ready to continue.

A moment later she asks about Gleim and Kam, Ranik's son. Garan informs her that without any of the Jedi they had no way to find Kam.

"You three were the only ones who knew what he looked like; we had no place to start looking."

"And Gleim?"

Hesitant again Garan tells her the truth about his action towards Gleim. "Gleim is okay, he made it out and is doing fine. However when I first got you here the doctors didn't think you would survive." Garan hesitates then goes on. "To ensure that you stay safe, if you survived that is, we burned a funeral pyre with a hologram standing in for you.

"Okay . . . I can understand that but what does that have to do with . . ." Jori stops as she realizes what Garan is getting at. "Gleim was there, he thinks I'm dead!?"

"Yes." Garan replies simply.

"Why, did . . .did you feel he couldn't be trusted or something?"

"No not at all, I was just worried that even with the Jedi Hunter I destroyed there's no telling if the Empire tagged one of our ships with a tracking beacon. We did jump out of the system in a hurry, I just felt it was a safe bet to make sure that if any information leaked back to the Empire that it reported that you died as well." Garan explains. "At that point we weren't even sure you'd make it. If you'd like we can find Gleim and tell him the truth."

While eager to see Gleim again Jori decides its probably for the best as she and her master were planning to go into exile anyway. They would've had to break contact with him eventually. Then she realizes that if Kam had not been reported dead she must begin a search for the young Jedi.

"I have to search for Kam, he has Jedi blood within him. If I find him I can train him." Jori states moving to get out of bed.

"Whoa you've been unconscious for the last five days, you need time to recover." Garan states motioning her back in bed.

"That boy is out there alone Major, the longer I wait the harder it will be to find him."

Hearing that MD-47 states that the patient will not be discharged from the med center for some time.

"He's right, your body needs time to recover." Garan adds.

"He's a droid!" Jori exclaims as she tries to stand. Having not felt the numbness in her legs she stumbles as she tries to stand but Garan catches her and helps her back onto the bed, then looks at her with a scornful face.

"Okay, okay I'll stay a week." Jori counters.

"Estimated time for full recovery is five weeks." MD-47 states. "That includes the duration of physical therapy."

"You'll be lucky if you can keep me here for two." She says to the droid.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Pell's orders." the droid adds.

"You wouldn't be so talkative if I had my lightsaber." Jori states. With that the droid backs down and returns to his duties. "Speaking of which, where is my lightsaber?"

"I have it, Jori I understand why you wish to leave now but if you go scouring the universe for this boy what happens if you run into trouble and your not physically ready." While she agrees with Garan's point she fears the thought of never finding Kam.

"Two weeks, three max, after that I have to leave Major. I have to find that boy."

"I understand, and call me Reac. Until then to ease your minds I'll send a search team to Dantooine to look for him, if you can give us a good description of the boy."

"Alright Reac." Jori replies. While she appreciates the gesture she knows only another Jedi will have the best chances of finding young Kam Solusar. "In the meantime, I'm starving can I get some food?"

Garan stays with her as MD-47 removes the IV from her vein and a server droid brings a meal for her. Feeling like she hasn't eaten in a lifetime Jori plows into the meal. Still feeling weak she lays back against the elevated bed and closes her eyes. While waiting for the food to arrive she'd given Garan a detailed description of Kam Solusar on a datapad. As the server droid takes the empty tray away Jori begins to drift off to sleep exhausted; Garan places his hand on her forehead affectionately for a moment. He then leaves the room and dispatches a small recon team to Dantooine to search for the boy described on the datapad.

* * *

 **I really wanted to bring back both Ryaan and Jori but I thought that would be too much of a stretch. Besides I think this works really well to see Jori as the sole primary character, sort of a passing of the torch if you will.**

 **Also you may have noticed from Remnants that some of my chapter titles are quotes from the films and what not. This one of course quoting Yoda's words when he inform Obi-Wan of Qui Gon's ability to preserve his life force after death. Hope you like it.**


	5. Diplomacy in Disguise

On the planet Chandrila, Senator Mon Mothma has summoned the leaders of the loyalist committee, discreetly known as the Rebel Alliance, to discuss the recent attack on their stockpile base in the Sullust system. Just before entering the safe room Bail Organa receives another report from Garan stating the Jedi has pulled through.

"That's good news Major, from here on out you will cease communications on this matter. I'm sure the . . . patient has her own plans once she's fully recovered. Until then she is your responsibility Major. Organa out."

As the Republic loyalists are seated Mon Mothma greets everyone and thanks them for coming. She asks the recently promoted Colonel Rieekan about the losses suffered during the attack. Rieekan explains that all three cargo ships escaped in tact as well as half of the N-1 starfighters.

"The DCS sphere took some punishment escaping the system but it did get away. We have several private yachts and long range shuttles running recon missions throughout the outer rim planets. Hopefully we'll find a suitable place to set it down and begin work on a new base . . ." Rieekan explains.

"I thought we had decided that the stockpiles remain mobile?" Mon Mothma says.

"We did milady however with only the core sphere of the DCS having survived the battle we will have to find a place for it to set down. There is no hyperdrive on it and it still holds a contingent of AAT tanks and battle droids. With your permission I plan to establish a base from which we can coordinate the bulk of our operations, the droid forces within the sphere can serve as part of the base defenses." Rieekan explains.

"While we're on that subject Colonel I'm still not comfortable with using former Separatist battle droids." Mothma replies.

"I understand your concern milady, we don't plan to acquire more in the future but without the Jedi's contribution of them our losses at Sullust would have been much heavier."

"Agreed, I assume Lt. Arkton and his staff got out in time?" Mon Mothma asks.

"His staff did milady, but Lt. Arkton took a hit in the back trying to cover his crew's escape." Rieekan replies knowing Arkton, a Chandrilan native, was appointed by Mon Mothma for the mission.

"After their escape from the system I went to survey the status of our forces that had escaped." Organa cuts in. "When I learned of Arkton's death I immediately gave command of the mission to Major Garan. Also I stand by Colonel Rieekan's decision to setup a base, albeit for another reason. With Garan and his team having been forced to blow their cover aboard the Jedi Hunter I they are now certainly listed as known traitors to the Empire. Having that kind of personnel, present or future, stationed at a remote base keeps them out of the public spotlight and away from us." Organa explains.

"I see where you're going now Bail, thank you." Mothma says turning back to Rieekan. "Proceed as you see fit Colonel once you find a suitable location."

"Yes milady, I've already put Garan in charge of that task."

After another hour of status reports and operations planning Mon Mothma suggest they send a Senator out among the outer rim to recruit more systems to the loyalist cause. While Organa agrees with the idea he admits that its a dangerous one.

"We must tread cautiously, by simply saying the wrong thing we might inadvertently paint a target on our backs." Organa states.

While she agrees Mon Mothma appoints Senator Terr Taneel to lead the recruiting party. "We can disguise it as a diplomatic mission, Senator Taneel will simply observe the opinions and feelings of the other senators she will be meeting with." Mothma receives and understanding nod from Taneel as she continues. "If she feels confident that a Senator might be a suitable candidate to broach the topic of rebellion with then she can proceed from there."

"I suggest that representative Taneel's ship be accompanied by a light yet armed escort." Rieekan adds.

Taneel acknowledges and welcomes the suggestion and is ordered to pick her pilots for escort.

"Once you have your escort team report to me for you itinerary." Mon Mothma orders.

Before adjourning the meeting Rieekan also suggests that the escort craft should not be those of the Chandrilian Security Force.

"The escort should use be random mixed fighters, not linked to our military forces, to keep a low profile."

Organa agrees with Rieekan and suggests the pilots be given a credit line to purchase their own fighters.

"I can have that arranged." Mon Mothma replies as she adjourns the meeting.

* * *

After the meeting Senator Taneel makes her way to the landing pad to return to her estate on the other side of Chandrila. Her shuttle pilot, Zaniel Brath, obediently waits by the ship for her return.

"Was your meeting productive milady?" Zaniel asks assisting her into the shuttle.

"It was, in fact I've been given an important assignment." Taneel replies knowing the pilot has been eager to get behind the controls of a starfighter for some time.

Brath was assigned as shuttle pilot to the Senator after he learned he was not one of the few chosen to serve as a pilot in Chandrila's security starfighter squadron. The young pilot was very skilled but didn't have the enough experience to be accepted, he had told the story several times to Senator Taneel while flying her wherever necessary. Regardless, he loved being a pilot even if he wasn't flying in combat. However today he receives a surprise as the Senator appointed him as one of her escort pilots for her upcoming mission.

"You're what!" Zaniel exclaims not believing his ears. Graciously he kneels down and takes the Senator's hand kissing it affectionately. "Thank you so much milady, you have no idea what this means to me. I won't let you down."

"Actually I do, I remember how disappointed you were when you first assigned this post." Taneel states. She goes on explaining the mission details and while they likely won't see any action he will be piloting a fighter of his choosing.

"I get to purchase my own fighter?"

"Well it will be issued to you but yes you get to choose it for yourself. Once I get the credit line established from Senator Mothma you'll have one week to find your ship and report back here to both of us." Taneel explains.

As Zaniel takes his seat and prepares to take off his mind goes berserk with excitement trying to decide what class of fighter he wants. As he sets course for the Senator's estate he decides to start his search at Incom.

After reporting to the Senator the next day Zaniel is forwarded a credit line of twenty thousand for his choice of fighter craft. He was instructed that the credits are also to be used for transport, lodging and any other necessities required while searching for the right ship. He is also issued a standard astromech droid name R9-D5 for navigating. A few hours later Zaniel boards a commercial transport bound for Fresia. Zaniel was uniquely fond of the newer Incom Arc-170 fighters used in the Republic, currently the Empire but realized it required a crew of three and wouldn't work for his current mission. Regardless he was glad Senator Taneel had seen his potential and given him the chance to prove his abilities as a combat pilot.

Zaniel, a Chandrilan native himself, was raised by his father who was also a fighter pilot. While his father seldom saw any action Zaniel was hooked on the idea of flying the moment his father let him sit in his fighter. His father taught him to fly at the early age of ten using the family air speeder, a few years later Zaniel joined the Chandrilian pilot youth brigade which served as a civilian auxiliary to Chandrila's security force. At times the youth brigade would be called to search for missing or crashed starships or speeders. Other times they would serve at other functions assisting the main security force. This path led Zaniel to eventually being accepted into the air and space academy on Chandrila where he learned to fly a variation of starships from heavy freighters to single seat starfighters. He had served as Senator Taneel's shuttle pilot for four years now and was eager to get back into the cockpit.


	6. One Lucky Pilot

Twenty-four hours later Zaniel steps off the transport on Fresia accompanied by the astromech droid R9-D5. He makes his way to the Incom sales room where several types of starships and speeders are displayed throughout the showroom. Once noticed a human salesman walks over to greet Zaniel inquiring how he can help him.

"I'm in the market for a new starfighter." Zaniel states. The salesman asks him a few basic questions to get an idea of what Zaniel is looking for. "I'm not too particular on design, just needs to have good shields, lightspeed capabilities and fairly armed."

"And an astromech socket I presume?" the salesman says noticing the droid.

Zaniel nods his head and is shown several current models still in production. He finds one in particular that he likes, a Z-17 double wing design, but finds it requires a booster rig to achieve lightspeed. Zaniel continues to peruse the showroom as well as some holos of other ships that can be purchased from the factory. He's about to give up and decides to head for the Bilbringi shipyards when he hears the sound of a unique turbine. He looks up through the transparisteel roof just as a sleek fighter with red trim zooms over heading for the manufacturing plant.

"What was that!" Zaniel exclaims.

"I ... don't know, let's go see." the salesman says as he leads Zaniel to the manufacturing plant. "The R&D department is always working on something new these days."

Once there they find the assembly lines are working on several more fighters of the same design. Zaniel watches through the transparisteel as the one that flew overhead comes in for landing.

"That looks awesome, can I see one up close?" Zaniel asks.

The salesmen escorts Zaniel through the plant and to an exterior landing platform where at least thirty to forty other fighters just like it sit in pristine condition still wrapped in protective coverings. The salesman directs Zaniel to small hanger bay just to the side of the landing grid. There he notices the same fighter only painted black with blue trim, Zaniel quickly assumes this is the prototype.

"What are they?"

The salesman looks at a holo readout stationed on the hanger wall and informs his customer that its called a T-55 Sabre. He also states per the holo that the fighters were purchased by an anonymous third party and not for sale.

"What about the prototype?" Zaniel says sitting in the fighter.

"I would assume its to go with the buyer since they're unlisted; usually they stay here for our showroom."

"It doesn't say? Does that mean its up for grabs?" Zaniel asks.

The salesman hesitates for a moment then asks Zaniel how much he would willing to pay for it.

"We'll I'd need to take it for a test flight first." Zaniel states.

As the salesman approves he requests collateral in the amount of ten thousand credits. Zaniel quickly tosses him a card for twelve thousand and orders R9 to hop in.

"Stay low when you take off and come in to land. I don't need you drawing attention."

"I copy, I'll be back in fifteen minutes." Zaniel says firing up the boosters and zooming off.

After clearing the manufacturing plant's airspace Zaniel puts the fighter through it paces. In a matter of minutes he's emerging from Fresia's atmosphere and maneuvers the ship through a series of banks and rolls then he has R9 plot a short hyperspace jump. He jumps a parsec away then tests fires the repeating blasters. While he can tell there are two proton torpedo launchers the ship is not currently armed with them. He jumps back into Fresia space and reenters the atmosphere dialing up the inertial compensator. Even though he hadn't been in a fighter cockpit in four years he feels the ship already fitting to him like a glove. He takes the ship passed the Coromon Islands executing another series of high speed twists and turns then heads for the Incom plant and promptly returns to the hanger with moments to spare.

"I want it!" Zaniel says as he jumps out of the cockpit wired with excitement.

The salesman hands the collateral credits back to him and asks how much it's worth to him.

While he's eager to make an offer Zaniel realizes that since an anonymous buyer has contracted Incom to build these, he doesn't want his name on the receipt.

"My only concern is that my name is anonymous as well or if nothing else, fictitious. I don't want this buyer hunting me down a month or two from now cause someone else bought their prototype."

The salesman thinks for a moment then states that can be arranged. "That will cost you more though since I'm putting my job at risk by selling it to you."

"Ok, how about nine thousand." Zaniel states.

"I was thinking more like sixteen."

"Twelve, including a thousand for you to cover your . . . .risk." Zaniel counters.

"Twelve plus two thousand for me."

Zaniel thinks for a moment realizing he'll still have close to five thousand left to return to the senator after the purchase and the price of the ticket he paid to get to Fresia.

"Deal."

Zaniel transfers twelve thousand in the company account designated by the salesman, then the other two thousand into the salesman's personal account. Just as he is about to climb back into the ship he realizes he'll need a flight suit and helmet. The salesmen escorts him back to the main showroom floor into accessories where Zaniel purchases a black and blue combat-EV flight suit. After looking through all the helmet templates he pick an enclosed flight helmut with retractable face screen for easy EV conversion. After having the helmet custom painted black and blue to fit the motif he dons the flight suit and walks back to his new fighter. He shakes the salesman's hand and hops back in the Sabre where R9 had been waiting for him in the droid socket. He secures his helmet to his head with the face screen open, a few seconds later the ship lifts off the platform and speeds off.

* * *

When Zaniel's T-55 comes to a rest on the landing grid on Chandrila he receives several curious looks from his former classmates that are now current security force pilots. He hands the deck leader a signed order from Senator Taneel to have the fighter fully fueled and loaded with armaments. He orders his red and white painted droid R9 to eject and follow him to maintenance. There he gives the maintenance droid a credit line from his own account to pay for a repaint on R9.

"As good as he looks his current paint scheme clashes with my new ship." Zaniel tells the maintenance officer. "Paint him up metallic gray with black and blue trim, that'll look good on you don't you think R9?"

R9 beeps and whistles a response that Zaniel interprets as, " _I guess so_."

After leaving R9 at maintenance for his makeover Zaniel proceeds towards Mon Mothma's office where he told to report once ready for the mission. He finds Senator Taneel is present as well as he is allowed into the office. Taneel is the first to notice Zaniel walking towards them clad in his sleek new flight suit. Zaniel bows and greets them both, he also thanks them again for giving him the assignment.

"I assume you found a suitable fighter for the mission?" Mon Mothma asks.

"More than suitable Senator." Zaniel replies as he hands the remaining credits not used to Taneel.

She thanks him and informs him that he has the next day free to do as he pleases.

"I would suggest that you spend that time making any adjustments, repairs or modifications to your ship that you feel necessary for the mission. Meet me on the landing platform at ten hundred hours the day after tomorrow. You'll meet the other pilots then and we'll head out" Taneel informs.

"Yes ma'am, may I inquire where our first destination is?" Zaniel replies.

Taneel informs him that for the majority of their journey they'll be in the outer rim.

"We're heading to Agamar."

* * *

Two days later while Zaniel is going over his final checklist for pre flight he is interrupted by a series of beeps and whistles. He turns around and see his astromech sporting his new matching paint job.

"R9 is that you? Zaniel asks as the droid whistles an affirmative. "You look good, hop in for me and run a quick diagnostics on all systems."

Using the rocket boosters hidden inside the astromech's legs the droid does as ordered as two pilots dressed in non marked flight suits approach Zaniel. Zaniel, who flight suit is also not adorned by Chandrilian markings, greets the two lieutenants assuming they're also assigned escort to the senator. Both pilots are immediately drawn to the sleek and unknown fighter craft, one extends his hand to Zaniel and introduces himself as Lt. Tosch Judson.

"That's some sleek fighter you got there, I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither had I." Zaniel says shaking his hand.

"Where did you get it? Tosch asks.

"Trade secret, sorry."

"I understand, hey Wurth!" Tosch says noticing the other pilot is still captivated by the T-55. The pilot comes out of his trance as Tosch introduces him. "This is Wurth Crake, he and I have been wing-mates since we were in the academy. How long have you been a pilot?

"Since I was ten, I joined the academy when I was eighteen but unfortunately there weren't enough spots open for the squadron pilots when I graduated." Guessing by their age Zaniel assumes they graduated within the last year or two. "I've been working as a senatorial shuttle pilot for the last four years." Zaniel explains.

"Well based off your ship someone obviously thinks very highly about your skills as a combat pilot." Wurth says.

"Yup, that would be Senator Taneel."

"Well it's good to have you on board." Wurth says as the pilots discuss their formation plan for the mission.

"Thanks, what are you guys flying for this mission." Zaniel asks curiously.

Tosch informs him that he's flying a Sienar systems D-36 Wingstar and his friend Wurth has a Correlian Y-70 Nebula.

"Not bad, I've seen an older model of the Wingstar, they're nice." Zaniel comments.

A few minutes later Colonel Rieekan and Senators Mothma and Taneel walk over to the pilots among their entourage. The pilots all bow respectfully and ask if the Senator is ready to take off. Taneel replies affirmatively and orders the pilots to man their ships.

As the pilots make for their ships Rieekan asks them to hold a moment.

"Hopefully you boys won't need these but even on the ground your mandate is to protect the Senator." Rieekan says pulling three gun belts from a backpack.

The pilots each secure the belts around their waist as Rieekan opens a small case revealing three moderately sized blaster pistols. Zaniel and his new wingmen each take a blaster, check its power cell and slide it snug into the holster.

"Only use them if you have to." Rieekan adds. "Good luck men."

Mon Mothma walks Taneel to her shuttle and gives her emissary a last warning before she departs

"I know you'll do well Senator but I must caution you; be careful that you do not assert yourself too much while meeting with potential allies. They won't join our cause if they feel pressured or endangered; at this point all we wish to know about them is where their feelings about the Empire lie." Mon Mothma says.

"I understand Senator." Taneel replies.

"May the force be with you Terr." Mothma replies stepping away from the shuttle.

Moments later the shuttle lifts off the deck followed by the fighter escort. As soon as they breach the atmosphere Taneel instructs her new shuttle pilot to synchronize their navigation system with that of the fighters.

"Set course for Agamar." She orders.

"Okay guys let's take our positions around the shuttle." Tosch states and he takes point in the front.

Zaniel angles up beside the shuttle while Wurth takes the rear end.

"Receiving calculations for lightspeed from the shuttle," Zaniel states. "Engage hyperdrive!" Microseconds later all four ships burst into lightspeed bound for the inner rim!


	7. Picking up the Trail

By the end of her third week on Polis Massa Jori was beginning to get a little stir crazy, While she was eager to begin the search for young Kam Solusar her recovery had taken longer than she'd thought. However by now she felt nearly up to her usual strength, she had spent an hour each morning meditating as well as entering into a Jedi healing trance. She'd also spend two separate hours in the afternoon in physical therapy then each night would take a run through the asteroid complex. However this evening she intended to see Major Garan after her run and request that he return her lightsaber. She never sensed that he was trying to keep it from her; she knew the Alliance would need the help of the Jedi if they were to succeed one day against the Empire.

After a visit to the fresher and a clean set of clothes she walks to Garan's quarters to find him sitting at his desk. He greets her with a smile and notices just by her stance that she's about back to her full strength.

"It's time Reac, I need my lightsaber." Jori says putting it bluntly.

"Time to go huh?" Garan replies as he walks to his locker to retrieve her weapon. "I hope you don't think I tried to keep you here."

"Not at all but with respect you don't hold any rank over me . . . and I do have a mission to accomplish." Jori replies.

"I understand," He says handing her the saber. "Just be careful Jori, we need you and the Jedi."

"I know, however once I find Kam we will go into exile so I can train him."

"And what if you don't find him, how long before you'll hide yourself?" Garan asks. Jori thinks about that for a moment but doesn't have a response to give.

"I'm not sure."

"Well since you're planning on leaving I'd like to make arrangements to get a starship for you. Can you wait until tomorrow to leave?" Garan asks.

"Yes, thank you." Jori says as she retires to her quarters.

She spends the next few hours is meditation trying to seek out the presence of young Kam. While she's unsure whether the boy is still on his home planet or not she decides the best place to start looking is Dantooine at the Velari farm.

The next morning before leaving Jori spends another hour in meditation as well as an hour practicing her sabre skills against multiple remotes, she then visits the fresher and adorns herself with tan pants and a matching hooded shirt with dusty brown colored boots and vest. Then she attaches a slim blaster holster to her right leg where she hides her lightsaber. She walks out to the landing pad where Garan awaits next to a small two man crew scout ship.

"It's not very heavily armed but I guess you won't be looking for trouble." Garan states. "It's the best I could do on short notice."

"It'll be fine." she says looking over ship. "Thank you for everything Reac, for saving me." Jori states as she boards the ship.

"One more thing," Garan says. "I'm sure your heading to Dantooine first so you might want this." He hands her a pouch full of credits as well as a holodisc with the coordinates of Ryaan's funeral pyre. "Ranik told me about it's location before he died. I haven't been there myself, we left Dantooine just after we . . . rescued him." he finishes somberly.

"Thank you, I'm sure Ranik took great care of him." Jori replies.

"I'm sure he did, he was a great man... both of them were." Garan adds. "May the force be with you Jori."

"And with you Reac." Jori says as she walks up the ramp to the ship.

She closes the ramp and with the ship already prepped for her she secures herself in the right seat taking the controls and ascending out of the hangar bay into open space. After setting a course for Dantooine she engages the hyperdrive and makes the jump to lightspeed.

* * *

Once the Chandrilan convoy comes out of hyperspace Zaniel takes the initiative to open a channel to Agamar requesting permission to land. After getting an affirmative to land Tosch remains on point and leads the shuttle to the designated landing grid. Once the shuttle and his two wing-mates are safely on the deck Zaniel circles the convoy then lands himself.

Taneel informs the pilots that they may leave their ships but that they must remain near the landing platform.

"Yes milady." Zaniel replies bowing as she and her entourage board an air taxi which takes them to her appointment.

As Zaniel removes his helmet R9 ejects himself and comes to land beside him just as Tosch and Wurth walk over.

"Well fun's over . . .for now." Tosch states knowing that they'll be waiting for awhile.

"Not necessarily," Zaniel says noticing the street just beyond the landing platform is lined with restaurants, shops and other points of interest. ". . . let's go see if we can muscle our way into a sabacc game." Both pilots smile in response and follow Zaniel to a nearby cantina. "R9 stay with the ships."

* * *

When Jori brings the scout ship out of hyperspace she is surprised by the absence of any Imperial vessels within view. She purposely plotted the course to come out of hyperspace far from the surface of Dantooine just in case there were Imperial forces still orbiting the planet. She scans the area for any Imperial ships and finds none within range. She boosts up the sublight engines and heads closer towards the planet. She scans again only to find a few small ships entering or leaving the lone spaceport. She follows the coordinates given to her by Garan towards where Ryaan's funeral pyre should be. As she enters the atmosphere she notices the location is not far from the spaceport. She decides not to land at the spaceport to keep attention to a low, a few moments later she sets down in a small valley.

She takes the holodisc and finds her way towards the funeral site, a few moments later she passes a lone tree in a field and then spots a large scorch mark in the grass. As she walks closer she feels a presence echoing through the Force. Figuring it could be that of her Master Ryaan Táj, she kneels down next to the mark where Ranik had built and burned the pyre.

"I feel your presence here master..." Jori says meditating. "I know what I have to do . . . I won't let you down master."

Knowing that the Velari farm is not far away she remains in her meditation period for nearly an hour trying to reach out to Kam. With no success she is about to end the meditation then suddenly senses a very strong presence, one she can't place but knows immediately that it is not the boy. She tries to lock onto the presence and identify it but all she senses are visions of the planet Commenor! At that point the bond is broken and she awakens from the trance.

"Commenor?" she says to herself.

She begins to wonder if she's just been given a clue to Kam's location, or possibly even another Jedi. She pays her final respects to her fallen master then boards the scout ship again and heads for the Velari farm.

A few minutes later she finds the farm where she first met Ryaan's former master, Ranik Solusar, just weeks ago. As she descends for landing she notices the back portion of the house is caved in. She steps off the ship and cautiously walks over inspecting the house; based off the damage she had expected to see a few bodies. She walks to the back of the house then spots a small enclosure under a tree located a few yards up the hill. She makes her way towards it and realizes it's a cemetery as she spots the two gravestones. As she walks closer she fears one of them is Kam's, however she is relieved as she sees that it belongs to Ranik's late wife Risa. Then she realizes the other has Ranik's name on it. Her mind begins to wonder if Kam was the one who buried his father. Then she realizes if that's possible then the boy may still be hiding somewhere on Dantooine after all. She begins to meditate again when she is interrupted,

"Did you know Ranik and Risa?" says a middle aged woman.

Jori turns to the woman and informs her that she knew

Ranik and their son. "What happened here?" she asks.

The woman tells the story that about three or four weeks ago she and her husband were on their way home.

"We saw smoke coming from here so we came to see if they needed help. We found the house like this and three corpses clad in white armor and helmets. Ranik was among them, it was horrible. His injuries looked like he was killed with some kind of hot metal dagger." the woman said.

"You mean they were already cauterized?" Jori states already knowing they were lightsaber wounds inflicted by Vader.

"Yes, exactly. Oh I'm so sorry. My name is Melli Sprecker, my husband and I live down there." Melli says pointing to her farm down the hill. "We've been Risa's neighbors for years going back to when she was a little girl." Sprecker continues to explain that they processed Ranik's body and buried him next to his wife.

"What about the clones?" Jori asks.

"Oh we buried them over the next hill in an unmarked grave."

Jori then asks about Kam and explains that she's looking for him. Sprecker informs her they've been keeping a lookout for the boy as well.

"We didn't find him here that day, however a few days after we'd cleaned up everything I was here putting some flowers on the grave and then I saw him watching me from the next field. Unfortunately he ran off before my husband could get to our speeder and find him. We haven't seen him since, the poor boy must be so scared."

Jori ponders the situation for a moment, with no leads she decides to try looking at the spaceport for Kam.

"Thank you for your time Melli." Jori says as she starts walking towards her ship.

"Do you think those clones will be back here?" Melli asks.

While she's unsure if the Empire will return or not Jori simply replies no as she waves her hand sending a wave of comfort over the woman through the force.

She takes off and heads for the spaceport, as she lands she's glad to see that there are no Imperial clones anywhere nearby. Not any visible ones though she realizes; once she lands she heads for the ticket office asking if there has been any young human boy who bought passage off the system.

"How long ago?" the ticket salesman asks.

"Three to four weeks ago." Jori says grimacing realizing that there's little hope that this person will remember one in thousands of random people he's seen in the last four weeks.

"He would have been traveling alone, twelve to fifteen years old." Jori states still clinging to any possible hope.

"Sorry hun."

"Where do most of the freighter pilots hang out around here?" She asks thinking he may have hopped a ride with a private freighter.

The ticket salesman points to a small bar on the other side of the spaceport. Jori thanks him and makes her way there. She walks in and quiets her mind for a moment trying sense the best way to get information from the mixed rabble of pilots. While she doesn't intend to give herself away as a Jedi she decides with no clones nearby its fairly safe to ask the crowd. She stands up on the top of the bar and imitates the sound of a Krayt dragon to get everyone's attention. Everyone looks up from their drinks, spice and Sabacc games at the human girl on top of the bar.

"I'm sorry to bother everyone but has anyone seen or given a ride off planet to a young human boy in the last three to four weeks?" Jori says hoping for the best response.

Her force senses alert her as the cantina patrons begin throwing everything from food to their drinks or Sabacc dice at her. She force jumps over the crowd to the entrance as she hears the bartender droid yell, "No blasters, no blasters!"

She ignites her yellow blade as four of the patrons rise from a Dejarik game and follow her outside to ensure she doesn't return. She deflects blaster bolts back to the two humanoids taking them down.

"There could be a reward involved." She says as she notices the Trandoshan and the Rodian continuing fire. She deflects a blast back to the Trandoshan hitting his weapon, he drops it and runs back into the bar. Then using the force she yanks the Rodian's blaster out of his hand and rushes to him. The Rodian cries out in his native tongue stating he doesn't know anything. Jori reads him through the force and senses deception. "You're lying!" she says bringing the saber to bare near his head. "Tell me or you'll be a green pile of steaming goo."

"Okay okay," the Rodian states pleading for his life. "I found a human kid stowing away on my ship a few weeks ago and I dumped him off as soon as I landed."

"What planet." Jori demands.

"I dunno I had nine stops on six different planets that trip."

"Where!" Jori demands. The Rodian quickly tries to remember his destinations during that trip.

"Uh I think it was Xagobah or Commenor, I'm not sure which." the Rodian exclaims.

"What was his name." Jori says easing off a bit.

"I didn't want to be friends with the little brat I just wanted the him off my ship."

"Slimeball." Jori says deactivating her saber.

She leaves the Rodian and heads back towards her ship.

* * *

Once he was sure the Jedi was finished with him the Rodian picks himself up and contacts a friend via holocom. Seconds later the image of a male Kel Dor wearing a shiny battle mask appears.

While off their home planet of Dorin any Kel Dor is forced to wear protective goggles and an antiox breath mask when in oxygen rich atmospheres. This Kel Dor however sports his modified steel mask fitted over his goggles and antiox breather which covers his entire head. He's also adorned with a sleeveless black battle vest and three steel bands wrapped around each arm. Holstered on each hip are two blasters and a long sniper rifle slung over his back.

"What do you want Woq'aa?" the Kel Dor says with a dark reverberating voice.

"I have a tip for you Loa, I just encountered a female Jedi. She roughed me up a bit, said she was looking for some kid so I thought you'd want the lead." the Rodian says.

"I do but what will it cost me?" Loa replies.

"That hundred credits I owe you, we'll just call it even." Woq'aa says.

"A simple lead isn't worth that much, even a credible one."

"I have a good description of her and I know where she's going." The Rodian replies watching the Jedi walk towards the landing pads.

"Twenty credits off your debt." Loa offers. The Rodian comes back requesting seventy off but the Kel Dor states that he's pushing his luck. "You haven't even given me the information yet, thirty off your debt."

"Okay I'll take it, she was human, brown hair, wearing sandy brown clothing and wielding a yellow lightsaber." Woq'aa continues as he spots the Jedi get into a small two man shuttle and prepare to take off. "Hey make it fifty and I'll give you a description of her ship too."

"Forty, final offer." Loa replies.

"Okay . . ." He gives Loa the ship description and then states that she's just now leaving Dantooine. "She'll be heading for either Commenor or Xagobah."

"Xagobah is closer, I'll start there. What do you know about this kid she was looking for?" Loa asks. Woq'aa explains that the Jedi was looking for a human boy about fifteen years old and that the boy had stowed away on his ship a few weeks ago. "So which planet did you dump the kid at?"

"Neither, they were the first two planets I'd been to on that trip before I found him in my cargo hold. Actually I think I left him on Agamar, hey if the Jedi girl is looking for this kid he might be a Jedi too."

"It's a possibility, thanks Woq'aa." Loa says ending the transmission.

* * *

Once in orbit around the planet Jori begins to set a course for Commenor believing it's the best place to start since she received a force image concerning the planet. Then she notices via the navicomputer that Xagobah is much closer to Dantooine than Commenor, she opens her senses to the force trying to decide if she should take the detour to Xagobah. Suddenly she remembers hearing reports of a possible CIS occupation on Xagobah during the war. It stuck out in her mind because she realized she'd heard the intelligence report while on Rhen Var. It was the same day she and Master Táj were shot down and stranded. She decides to check the holonet for any recent Imperial activity on Xagobah as well as Commenor. Excitedly she learns that Commenor went unscathed during the war, however she discovers that a major battle was fought on Xagobah. She reads on to learn that the Republic did liberate the planet but was unable to find if any Imperial forces were currently stationed there. While still anxious to get to Commenor as soon as possible she decides it would be a waste of time if she had to come back to Xagobah later. She lays in a course for Xagobah on the navicomputer. "This already seems like a futile quest." She says as she initiates the hyperdrive.

* * *

After deactivating the transmission from Woq'aa, Loa Katal walks back to his bar stool to finish his drink. He'd been hanging out in the lower levels of Coruscant for the last few weeks since he'd received a large sum for the capture of a Jedi Padawan on Boz Pity. He considered himself on vacation for a while until he received this new lead from his old acquaintance Woq'aa. Using an adapter which allows him to consume food and drink without taking off the antiox mask, he downs the rest of his beverage and slams down his cup with a reverberating belch.

He makes his way to his Sienar systems manufactured starship, designed for business or pleasure trips the spearheaded shaped craft was modified by Loa himself after his first job. He added a rotating blaster turret at the aft port side of the ship which originally housed a dorsal access hatch. He also refitted the ship with primary guns on the bow and removed the standard antenna array placed just forward of the cockpit on the starboard side to fit an astromech droid. He makes his way to the landing platform where he spots his droid's dome protruding from the socket. After taking his position in the moderately spacious cockpit he notices the droid's dome descending where a hatch closes behind the droid. Seconds later an internal access hatch, originally designed as a maintenance tunnel for the antenna array, opens where the droid KL-R4 enters the cockpit.

"Thanks for warming her up Killer." Loa says having nicknamed the droid based from its designation.

While Loa modified the socket for the droid to pilot the ship from he has yet been able to give Killer access to the navicomputer from there. He orders the droid to set course for Xagobah, moments later the ship jumps into hyperspace.

* * *

 **I'm a huge fan of Plo Koon, I always thought his mask looked almost villainous in nature and his voice from the Clone Wars was sick! Thus I created a bounty hunter of the same species!**


	8. Utilizable Utapau

Somewhere within the inner rim a droid battlesphere is slowly making its way through space. Aboard it the recently reprogrammed battle droids are put to work repairing the damages sustained during its escape from the Sullust system. While many of the droid forces were destroyed during the battle, the remaining fighters encircle the sphere as it hobbles its way towards the planet Utapau.

On board former Imperial officer Lt. Balek is supervising the repairs while his comrade Lt. Kaeon takes command on the bridge. The officers had boarded the sphere via shuttle a week ago to take control of the ship and find a location to set down and begin construction on a new base.

Kaeon summons Balek to the bridge as they receive an incoming transmission from a encrypted channel. The images of Major Garan and Colonel Rieekan appear. Balek and Kaeon greet them respectfully as their superiors inquire about the repairs.

Balek informs them that the ship is up to eighty-three percent combat efficiency. "We'll have to set down before we've completed all of them; of course we have some of the droids outside working as we speak." Balek informs. "I guess that's the one good thing about having sublight engines only."

"Lieutenant are you sure you want to set down on Utapau, it was a separatist planet after all." Rieekan states.

"That's not entirely accurate sir, the seppies had a base there but the planet's people were not allied with them. And we don't plan to set down in the same location that the seps were. We're landing on the other side of the planet, it'll be sufficient . . .for now. It will also allow you to recall those recon vessels and put them to better use."

"Alright, let us know once you've set down and secured the area so we can send the cargo ships to you. We have them hiding in the Rishi Maze for the time being." Rieekan explains.

Garan then informs Balek that'll he rendezvous with them on Utapau as well once the area is secured. "We'll recommence the stockpile missions then Captain." Garan says to Balek with a smile.

"Yes Sir, wait . . .what?" Balek says surprised.

"You've done an excellent job taking command of the sphere and looking after the battle droids. You're being promoted to Captain." Garan informs. "Congratulations."

"Thank you Sir." Balek replies.

"We'll wait for your contact once you reach Utapau, Rieekan out."

Two days later the sphere reaches Utapau, before ordering the droids to commence the landing cycle Balek summons Lieutenants Nkard and Idayk to the bridge. The other two junior officers were below the main decks overseeing other aspects of the repairs being done. Balek orders Idayk to remain on the bridge with Kaeon while himself and Nkard are going to take a shuttle down to the planet to scout the area for Imperials or even remaining separatists forces.

"Kaeon has the bridge; be ready to dispatch vulture droids if we run into trouble." Balek orders.

"Sir why don't you take a few battle droids with you, in case you run into trouble on the ground." Kaeon suggests.

Agreeing to the idea Balek orders Nkard to retrieve six standard battle droids and meet him in the hangar.

They rendezvous at the sole hangar bay located at the bottom of the sphere. There they board the only non droid vessel, a Sheathipede class shuttle, left in the sphere. Nkard takes the controls and lifts off the platform, moments later they are in open space heading for Utapau's surface. Balek begins scanning uninhabited areas for activity and finds none aside from a few of the indigenous flying creatures that are seen diving into the sinkholes.

"Looks clear, let's find us a good sinkhole for the sphere. Just to be safe let's stay far away from Pau City." Balek states referring to the most populated city.

On the other side of the planet they begin checking sinkholes for a sufficient landing spot for the sphere. While the inhabited sinkholes have landing platforms around the walls Balek realizes they'll have to build landing pads and the rest of the base themselves. However he expects to find plenty of room to build such a base in the catacombs within the depths of the sinkhole.

After designating a good spot Nkard sets the ship down at the bottom of the sinkhole and orders the droids to disperse. The two officers follow the droids out and orders three of them to stay with the shuttle. The other three are ordered to follow as Balek and Nkard scout the area ensuring there are passageways out to another sinkhole. Some so big they serve as major cities among the more populated areas. As before on the Sullust base they ensure that there is an escape route if they are attacked again. Balek quickly notices the large street like passageways but realize they are too far to walk to find the opposite end.

"Do you have a strobe?" Balek asks with an idea in mind.

Nkard searches his person and finds the requested item. He finds one and passes it to Balek who hands the strobe to one of the droids and orders him to stay in communication. "When we contact you I want you to activate it, do you understand?"

"Roger, roger Captain." the droid replies.

The two run back to the shuttle and lift off the sinkhole floor with the other three droids aboard. Nkard takes the ship out and visually scans for the nearest sinkhole. He finds it a few miles away and lands at the bottom of it, while this one has a small reservoir at the bottom there is still plenty of room to land the ship. As before Balek leaves the droids to watch the ship as he and Nkard make their way into the passageways which they theorize should link up with the previous one. He activates his comlink to the droids they left behind and orders them to activate the strobe.

On the other side of the passageway the droid does as ordered.

"Do you know what this is supposed to do?" one droid says to the other.

"I dunno, I just hope its not a thermal detonator."

The droid activates the strobe which sends a pulsing light flashing through the passageway. Balek and Nkard waiting on the other side see the strobe realizing the sinkholes link up and they now have an escape route for their new base. Balek orders the droids to return to where they had landed, they pick up the other three droids and dispatch a few markers for the sphere's landing spot. Then he and Nkard head back up the sinkhole informing Kaeon about the landing coordinates. Balek orders Nkard to land the shuttle on the top of the sinkhole to await the sphere.

"We'll help guide them in." Balek says looking up through the large transparisteel cockpit.

Ten minutes later the sphere breaches the atmosphere and descends towards the designated sinkhole. Moments later Nkard spots the vessel in the sky.

"Kaeon the landing zone is marked, we'll follow you in." Balek says through his comlink.

Nkard gently lifts the shuttle off the ground and descends next to the sphere. On board the sphere itself Kaeon orders the pilot droids to begin landing cycle. A few minutes later the sphere is safely positioned at the bottom of the sinkhole.

"Lt. Kaeon, open up the main hatches and dispatch all remaining ground forces." Balek orders through the comlink.

Once the upper hatch is clear Nkard pilots the shuttle to a small platform inside. While the platform is generally used for storing AAT tanks during flight, when planetside it can serve as a landing platform. Kaeon and Idayk greet their fellow officers on the platform as they watch the droid tanks take positions on the sinkhole floor.

"We should position some of those tanks on the top of the sinkhole." Idayk suggests.

Balek thinks about it but decides they would be spotted too easy from the air. "How about we send a column up the trails along the walls." Balek replies noticing the paths encircling the sinkhole walls. "Send about half of them up there and spread them out."

"Yes sir." Idayk says running to execute the order.

"Hey send some of the vulture droids up there as well for air support." Balek adds.

"Copy that." Idayk replies continuing on his way.

Balek then orders Kaeon to contact Major Garan and report their coordinates as they make their way to the bridge.

* * *

After receiving the report of a successful landing on Utapau, Garan relays the information to Colonel Rieekan then sends a transmission to the cargo ships hidden within the Rishi Maze. N leader, Lt Yeric Sogan, receives the transmission from Garan.

"Lt. Sogan escort the cargo ships to the planet Utapau, contact Captain Balek when you arrive in-system."

"Copy that sir, you sure about that destination . . .Utapau?" Sogan replies.

"I have my doubts but Captain Balek assures me its a safe location. Besides it's not going to be permanent."

"Understand, we're on our way Major, Sogan out." Sogan regroups with his fellow pilots of N squadron and orders them to inform the cargo ships to prepare to lift off. "Looks like we've got a new base men, we dust off in twenty minutes."

* * *

Back on Polis Massa Garan prepares to send out another transmission, this time to the planet Toydaria. While he doesn't receive an immediate response from his contact there he begins recording his message for transmitting. ". . . .as soon as you can meet me on Utapau, contact me once your in the system and I'll provide coordinates to guide you in. Garan out." Once the message is sent he orders a protocol droid stationed outside his quarters to enter.

"How can I be of service sir?" the droid states.

"Have my shuttle prepped for launch and inform all personnel to prepare to evacuate the system." Garan orders.

After gathering his belongings he leaves the room and heads for the hangar bay; with his pilot already aboard and running pre-flight he steps on the shuttle and takes his seat.

"Whenever your ready pilot."

"Yes sir." the rebel pilot replies.

Garan watches out the viewport as several other shuttles and freighters are taking off to evacuate as ordered. Garan had wanted to make a permanent base out of the asteroid complex. Being that it was already complete with a medical center, although it was too small to serve the needs of a growing rebellion he does leave a small garrison stationed in the system as a relay station. Moments later the shuttle along with other vessels jump into hyperspace bound for Utapau.


	9. Sidetracked on Xagobah

Despite the purplish mists that waft through the skies of Xagobah's atmosphere, Jori brings the scout ship to a soft landing within the fungal forests. With no direct starting point Jori set the ship down near the most populated regions. Before exiting the ship she retrieves a breath mask from the ship's small equipment locker; realizing via scans of the planet during her descent that multiple species of plant life produce spores which can be harmful to off-world humanoids. Not knowing how long she will be away from the ship she also grabs a small backpack and stuffs two additional filters for the rebreather inside it as well as a container of water and a small med kit.

She was happy to find through her scans that there were no Imperial vessels in orbit around the planet. Thus she had proceeded to land on the planet to search for Kam.

She dons the rebreather mask and steps off the ship onto the lush purple topography. She closes the boarding ramp and makes her way to the nearest community. Situated on the enormous mushrooms that cover the planet's surface the inhabitants of Xagobah dwell in sprawling villages built atop the fungi, some of which range up to three hundred feet tall. Using the smaller fungi as stepping stones Jori makes her way up to what appears to be the center mushroom of the community. Once there her presence is almost immediately noticed by the multicolored reptilian Xamsters, indigenous to the planet. Unsure how the Xamsters would respond to an uninvited guest to their peaceful community; Jori was surprised to find the reptilians to be so friendly and welcoming. She immediately began to ask if any of them spoke basic. As they ushered Jori to a seat by a fire an orange tinted Xamster came forward asking how he and his people could help.

"I'm looking for a young human boy about fifteen years of age." Jori states wishing she had a holo of Kam to easily provide a description of him. "It's possible he was dropped of here by a freighter within the last few weeks."

The orange Xamster confers with his fellow villagers posing the question for Jori. Unfamiliar with their language Jori watches intently as a female Xamster offers her a wooden cup filled with a hot beverage. She lifts the rebreather momentarily and takes a sip of the potent concoction, conscious not to draw breath while ingesting the beverage. She takes another sip as she notices several groups of Xamsters appearing to be cast out of the main group.

"The runners will spread the word throughout the nearby communities and find out if someone has spotted the boy." States the orange Xamster.

Realizing the cast outs are actually appointed couriers she thanks the orange one and takes another sip of her beverage.

"Is the boy your son?"

"Oh, no but . . . he is lost without my help." Jori replies then asks how long it will take for the couriers to return.

"That depends, if the boy is still here word may spread quickly. We sent runners to each of our three neighboring communities. If the answer is not found there they will send runners out to the next neighboring communities and so on. This will continue until all every community has been checked." The orange Xamster explains.

"How many communities are we talking about?" Jori asks.

"Over sixty, the next cluster of communities is in the next hemisphere. Forgive my poor manners, I have yet to introduce myself. I am Khava Nee, this is my family's village and your welcome to stay as long as your quest deems necessary." Khava says. "If you'd like I can arrange a place for you to rest until we hear back from the runners."

"I appreciate your hospitality." Jori replies. Having not slept since the morning she left Polis Massa she takes Khava up on the offer. Khava leads her to a secluded hut where a three foot sleeping mat lay on the floor.

"I'm sorry we don't have any longer mats, if you'd like I can retrieve another for you." Khava says.

"This is more than adequate, thank you." Jori states.

"I will come to collect you if I hear word from the runners."

Jori thanks him and his people again for all they're doing for her then takes a seated position on the mat and meditates. After a half hour of mentally reaching out for Kam she lies back on the soft mat exhausted and drifts off to sleep.

* * *

The Hunter's Arrow erupts from hyperspace into the hazy view of Xagobah as KL-R4 immediately initiates sensor scans of the planet. As Killer's scan data populates on the display screen Katal notices the absence of Imperial vessels in the system. He then notices that Killer has picked up an ion trail in the upper atmosphere of the planet.

"Have you plotted the descent vector?" Loa asks his droid.

Killer spouts off a series of beeps and whistles the response which populates on the readout. Katal finds the trajectory leads to the most populated region of the planet.

"That's where I'd start first if I was aimlessly looking for someone." Katal says to himself as he orders Killer to plot a course to follow.

* * *

The off white of the giant mushroom platforms blend with the soft purple fog as Jori's eyes begin to focus. Once she fully awakens she sits up on the sleeping mat and stretches for a few minutes. She opens her senses to the force and mentally searches for any force sensitive beings nearby. With nothing felt in return she rises from her seated position and exits the hut to find Khava. She walks towards the center fire of the village and finds Khava speaking with his people in their native language. He ceases the discussion with the others as he greets her.

"I hope you rested well."

"Fine, thank you." Jori replies. "Any word from the runners?"

"Yes, unfortunately though no one has seen the boy you seek. We did receive reports of some humans spotted near the Mazariyan."

"What's that?" Jori asks.

"The CIS fortress during the Clone Wars before the Republic liberated us from the Separatists. We've heard there are plans to convert it into a spaceport." Khava explains.

Thinking that if Kam was dropped off on Xagobah then it's a good possibility that the Rodian she questioned may have set down near the fortress. She asks Khava how far it is and if someone can guide her to the Mazariyan.

"It is a long journey from here, several weeks in fact unless you have a starship." Khava replies.

Jori smiles and informs him that her ship is located close by. Khava informs her that he and his nephew Khrata Nee will accompany her to the fortress.

"My nephew is an expert in the arts of Tal-Gun so we will be more than protected if we run into trouble."

"Should we be expecting to run into trouble there?" Jori asks.

"I surely hope not but the CIS were driven off-world only a few months ago."

"I understand, when can we leave?" she replies.

"Right away, where is your ship?"

Jori leads Khava and his nephew, a slightly darker orange Xamster than himself, to her ship. She opens the ramp and climbs aboard informing them that there's only enough room for two in the cockpit. She takes the pilot's seat and begins warming the sublight engines as Khava takes the seat next to her. Khata takes a seat on one of the two bunks along the inside walls of the ship. A few moments later she lifts the ship out of the fungal forest and ascends into the lower atmosphere.

"Okay how do I get to the Mazariyan?" She asks as she removes the rebreather mask she'd been wearing.

"Do you have a geographical chart of the planet?" Khava asks.

Jori responds by bringing up the scans of the planet she made after coming out of hyperspace. Khava points out the location of the former CIS fortress and sets a course through the lower atmosphere.

* * *

A few hours later the navicomputer beeps informing Jori to start the descent to the surface. She deactivates the auto pilot and angles the ship downwards. Moments later the Mazariyan fortress comes into view, Khava advises her to land within the forest to keep her ship from being seen. She dons the rebreather mask again and lowers the ramp and heads into the forest. As they break the tree line Jori notices the fortress that lay in rubble ahead of her, she opens her senses again hoping for some presence of Kam.

"Do you not have a weapon?" Khava asks noticing he seemingly empty blaster holster.

Jori assures her new friend she is indeed armed and asks him to lead the way. They approach the nearby communities of Xamsters, Skakoans and a few other species with Khava and his nephew leading the way. Realizing that the Techno Union ranks during the war were mostly Skakoan Jori decides to remain a step or two back from her friends. As they continue the inquiry about Kam she notices the lack of any human species present as was reported by the runners. Sensing no deception from Khava through the force she decides to let him continue on their search. A few moments later Khava turns to her stating no one has seen any human boy of the age described in this area.

"What about the humans that were spotted here?" Jori asks curiously.

Khava turns back to the small group of indigenous and poses the question to them.

"They say there were a few human freighter pilots that came to deliver supplies to the village but none of them were of the right age." Khava explains.

"Probably smugglers." Jori assumes. "Would there be anyone in the CIS fortress?"

"No one from the communities but it's possible people could be taking refuge there." Khava says.

Jori suggests they check it anyway just as they hear a suppressed but significant noise overhead. Jori immediately identifies it as a starship coming in to land.

"Are these people expecting guests?"

Khava asks the townspeople and receives a negative response.

"You said there's plans to rebuild the fortress into a spaceport; is there a makeshift landing area near here?" Jori asks.

"Not that I'm aware of, it's probably just another smuggler or looters. After the Republic withdrew from the planet a lot of people raided the fortress. Some still come looking for spare parts, armaments and what not." Khava explains.

Jori nods as she suggests they continue on to the fortress.

* * *

After following what he assumed was the Jedi's ion trail down to the planet. Katal had picked up a secondary trail leading from the first location to the Mazariyan. After powering down the ship Katal goes to his armory closet to withdraw a carefully chosen array of weapons. Realizing he's once again dealing with a Jedi he retrieves a pair of stun cuffs, a short barreled high output repeater blaster rifle and net launcher along with his usual blaster pistols holstered on each hip.

Since the creation of the Empire several months ago the Jedi have become a hot ticket item. Where the most ruthless criminal in the galaxy may rate a high profile bounty as much as fifty thousand credits or more; most Jedi have rated bounties as high as two hundred thousand. More so if the Jedi was a Knight or a Master, however the bounties were posted as dead or alive but were always worth more alive. Katal had collected bounties on three Jedi thus far since the purge had begun, two of them were barely into their teenage years. However the last proved to be somewhat of a challenge as he was likely in early Knighthood, Katal was forced to kill him and collect the bounty dead. While at a significantly reduced priced he was able to finish most of the modifications on the Hunter's Arrow and spend a week of down time on Coruscant.

After stepping off the ramp Killer magnetically seals the ramp shut, protecting it from any would be thieves trying to get in. With the net launcher slung over his back Katal makes his way towards the former CIS fortress on a fold out speeder bike. Moments later he scans the area with the macrobinoculars embedded within his mask. Almost instantly he spots two Xamsters leading a hooded figure towards the rubble that was once the Mazariyan. Remembering the description Woq'aa gave him he figures that is the Jedi. He pilots the speeder around to flank the Jedi waiting for her to enter the fortress, once inside he parks the speeder on one of the upper platforms and descends into the fortress from the roof.

With whole sections of the complex turned into mazes of rubble and debris Katal makes his way downwards into the lower levels. After a few minutes he realizes he has easily lost the Jedi's position much less which direction she's heading. Using the multitude of gadgets embedded in his battle mask he extends an antenna from the mask which serves as a soundboard. As audio waves filter into his earpiece he's able to pinpoint her location and uses the sonar to follow the Jedi. Moments later he comes to a wall with holes scattered throughout due to blaster fire during the battle. He peeks through each hole noticing the grand atrium that likely served as a command center or possible motor pool. Following the audio waves he realizes the Jedi is heading into the atrium, he then notices a balcony outlining the interior of the atrium. He finds his way towards the balcony from which he'll stage his assault, he's about to turn the corner onto the walkway when he notices a standard B1 battle droid standing down the adjacent corridor. He aims his rifle to fire then notices it's not activated. He's about to resume his path into the atrium when he comes up with an idea.

* * *

Moments later Khava and his nephew lead Jori into the grand atrium. Realizing the obliterated fortress has a plethora of rooms and passageways, not counting the new ones created by all the rubble, Jori decides to sit for a moment and meditate. The Xamsters do a quick search of the perimeter as Jori reaches out for Kam again. A few seconds later she hears the sounds of metallic footsteps, at first she thinks she's hearing echoes in the force but then she experiences a sensation of danger.

"Jori watch out!" Khava states noticing the twenty some battle droids entering the atrium with blasters raised!

Jori snaps out of her meditation, calls her lightsaber to her hand with the force igniting the yellow blade as she rises from her seated position.

"Hands up Jedi!" One of the battle droid states as they open fire.

Jori deflects the blaster bolts left and right slaying three of the droids right away.

* * *

Having reactivated the droids he found in the nearby room, Katal stealthily makes his way to the balcony as the droids keep the Jedi's attention diverted. He loads one of three compacted nets into the launcher and takes aim at the Jedi.

* * *

"You're a Jedi!?" Khava exclaims as he runs to find cover behind Jori.

"Can we discuss this later, I'm a little busy at the moment." She replies slicing a droid in two. "I could use some help, don't you have any weapons?"

"Our weapon is Tal-Gun." Khata adds mentioning the martial arts taught on Xagobah.

"Great, that won't do any good against blasterfire!" She replies.

As she deflects another bolt she senses danger again through the force. Just as Katal fires the net launcher Jori turns and slices through the unfolding net!

"Where did that come from?" Khava says.

"There's someone up there!" Jori replies taking the droids' numbers down to twelve. "Can you spot 'em?"

Khava runs towards Jori taking position behind her to spot the assailant as she continues to fight the droids. He notices the masked figure rising from the balcony ledge about to fire again.

"Watch out!" Khava says pushing Jori aside.

The second net unfolds on its course towards the Jedi but Khava pushes her out of the way as he is caught in the net and sent rolling on the floor.

"Sithspawn!" Katal says to himself as he loads his last net into the launcher, this one a charged electro net.

"Khava!" Jori yells taking out another droid.

Realizing the situation is destabilizing quickly she goes on the offensive and rushes the droids. She takes out six more in a few deft moves of her saber. With only a few droids left she turns her head back towards where the unknown assailant is firing just in time to see another net being launched. She notices right away this one is electrically charged. She rolls away to dodge the net as it wraps around one of the remaining droids obliterating it and a shower of sparks!

With the rest of the droids' attention diverted Khata runs around to their flank and rips the head of one of them. As Khata attacks the next one Jori turns her attention back towards the masked assailant and he fires a blaster rifle. She deflects the array of bolts and dodges a few letting them strike the remaining battle droids. She continues deflecting the bolts and impales another droid with an underhand move as Khata disables the last one.

"Get Khava behind cover." Jori yells as Khata drags his uncle, still entangled in the net, behind a large piece of rubble.

Fed up with the assailant Jori Force jumps up to the balcony next to the assailant. Realizing he can't take on a Jedi's lightsaber Katal quickly retrieves a thermal detonator and hurls it towards the Xamsters below! Jori force pushes Katal and jumps back down landing in front of her friends and emits a Force shield protecting them from the blast. With only milliseconds to achieve the feat she succeeds but isn't able to hold her position as the repressed explosion pushes her against the far wall.

"Are you alright?" Khata asks.

"That hurt . . ." She says shaking off the hit.

Katal loads a new power cell into his rifle and resumes fire as he heads for the exit from the balcony. Jori reignites her lightsaber and deflects the blasts. As he disappears into the next corridor she sends a heavy force push into the wall crumbling it. As the wall falls away another thermal detonator is tossed through the opening into the atrium. Not strong enough to attempt to block it again, Jori levitates it to the far corner and takes cover with the Xamsters as it blows.

Once clear that the assailant has fled Jori stands and cuts through the net freeing Khava.

"Are you alright?" She asks deactivation her weapon.

"Yes, thank you. Why didn't you tell us you were a Jedi?" Khava asks.

"This was a Separatist planet for some time, I wasn't sure how you felt about Jedi." Jori replies.

"Xagobah was occupied by the Separatists but we Xamsters for the most part never wanted to secede from the Republic. As for the Jedi, I for one don't believe they tried to take control of the Republic. We saw what they did for us here during the war." Khava explains.

"I'm glad you feel that way, I just didn't want to put you into harms way. However it seems like I already have, I apologize."

"Nonsense, you protected us. Isn't that the role of a Jedi?" Khava adds.

Jori smiles in response to that and suggests they leave the fortress.

"That masked Kel-Dor is still likely in the complex and he could easily bomb this place to make sure I don't leave alive."

Once Katal makes his way back to his speeder near the top of the fortress he awaits for the Jedi to emerge from the main entrance. Moments later he spots her and her Xamster companions, he waits for them to put some distance between the forest tree line and the fortress. Once out in the open with minimal cover he opens fire with the rifle.

Having sensed his presence the moment they exited, Jori was waiting for him to strike to give him the illusion that he'd have the element of surprise. As she senses him about to fire she quickly turns; then using an invisible hand in the Force rips out a section of the fortress wall beneath him! Shocked by the feat, Katal is helpless to react as his footing crumbles away beneath him and he is buried within the rubble.

With no results of Kam's presence on the planet Jori decides it's time to move on to Commenor. She informs her friends as they make their way back to her ship. A few hours later she lands the ship just outside Khava's village and says her goodbyes and thanks them again for their help.

"You are always welcome here Master Jedi if you need a place to stay." Khava says as he steps off the ramp.

"Thank you, it's possible I might just take you up on that offer. Whether I find my friend or not I will have to exile myself at some point or another." Jori says.

"May the Force be with you Jori." Khava says.

Moments later the ship ascends into the atmosphere then into space, Jori then lays in a course to Commenor on the navicomputer. With the image of Commenor still fresh in her mind she hopes she hasn't doomed her search by checking Xagobah first. Once in hyperspace she sets the navicomputer to alert her once near her destination. She then crawls onto one of the bunks and falls fast asleep.

* * *

By the time the Jedi had left the system Katal had awakened from his unconsciousness within the rubble. He slowly digs his way out assuming he wasn't buried too deep. Once he escapes the living tomb he notices the antenna protruding from his masked was crushed. When he reaches to retrieve his blaster rifle he finds the barrel is completely bent out of shape. He tosses the useless weapon and staggers to his speeder angered that his first encounter with this particular Jedi failed so miserably. He fires up the fold out speeder and heads for his ship eager for round two with the female Jedi.


	10. A Chance Encounter

After an hour of meditation in orbit around the planet Commenor Jori finally pinpoints the region from which the force tremor had emerged. She opens her eyes to bare on the subtle brown and blue tones of Commenor's surface. She takes a moment to relax and marvel at the view then initiates the sublight engines and brings the scout ship into the atmosphere. She lands the ship on the planet's largest populated area called Chasin City.

As she steps off the ship she feels the presence of the unknown Jedi somewhere among Commenor's restaurant row. She casually makes her way from the landing grid to the point of interest and is led by the Force to an establishment called Sampo's, one of Commenor's most well known eateries. She expects to see a rabble of patrons as she experienced in the spaceport bar on Dantooine. However she's surprised when she finds the place is not only uniquely designed but the environment is quiet and welcoming.

"This is more like it." She says to herself.

Unsure whether the Jedi is Kam or another survivor from Order 66 she decides to take a seat and order a meal from the extravagant restaurant. This allows her the time required to pinpoint the Force sensitive and not draw unnecessary attention to herself. She orders from a waiter droid then quickly scans through the patrons with her eyes. Aside from a few patrons located at the bar she notices there are very few that are seemingly alone. She keeps her senses outward as her dinner is brought to her, halfway through her meal she locates the Force sensitive. However she's still unable to determine their identity as their back is to her and their head is covered by a cloak. Jori quickly finishes her dinner as she watches the person stand up, pay the waiter droid and leave the establishment. Jori leaves some credits at her table as she follows the cloaked person down the street.

Based off the person's height and the heightened shape of the hood she realizes almost immediately that this cannot be young Solusar. While disappointed by that fact she continues to follow the cloaked figure through the streets. She remains a fair distance away while following them when she senses that the unknown Force sensitive has sensed her own presence. The cloaked figures turns their head slightly spotting Jori as she stops dead in her tracks.

"Don't run." Jori whispers hoping the mysterious figure doesn't perceive her as a threat.

Before she knows it the cloaked figures bolts down an alley behind a row of restaurants using the Force to augment her speed. Jori takes pursuit and follows down the alley, she turns the corner just as the mysterious figure darts down another passageway. Jori boosts her speed via the Force and continues the pursuit following the unknown Force sensitive through several passageways. After the sixth turn onto a new street she wonders if the figure has lost her then suddenly she spots a green lightsaber being swung towards her head!

With microseconds to spare Jori pushes out with the Force deflecting the blade as she somersaults over it; igniting her own blade as she lands.

"I don't want to . . ." Jori is cut off as the cloaked figure redirects her attack igniting a smaller second green blade.

Jori blocks the assault then Force jumps backwards as the attacker slices the green blade back and forth following Jori's retreat. Jori halts and meets the blade surprising the cloaked figure, she delivers a side kick to her opponent's midsection then Force pushes outwards. The blow sends the attacker backwards causing them to lose their grip on the smaller lightsaber; Jori quickly levitates it to her via the force and slices it in half! Seeing this the attacker bull rushes Jori but misses as Jori Force jumps up to the roof of the nearest structure. The attacker re-ignites her primary weapon and meets Jori on the top of the building. As the duel continues Jori is able to get a glimpse of the attacker's angered red face and wonders if she'd inadvertently found a darksider by mistake. Unwilling to strike them down without identifying them first Jori remains mostly on the defensive. With her attention diverted for a split second Jori receives a Force push which sends her to the ground. The red faced assailant runs towards the main city street and hops on an unoccupied speeder bike, Jori picks herself up and pursues. She levitates a Sullustan speeder pilot off his bike and advises him she needs to borrow the vehicle. She sets him down safely as she fires up the swoop bike and speeds off after the Force sensitive.

She follows the unknown figure through the city streets suddenly realizing they're heading for the spaceport, Jori fires to the starboard side of the attacker's speeder as a warning. She increases the fire grazing the rear of the speeder as they change course away from the spaceport. Racing around the city for another fifteen minutes Jori becomes fed up with the chase and fires directly on the speeder. The hit throws the attacker from the bike into the air as Jori uses the Force to bring them to the ground. Hoping the attacker will cease Jori is disappointed when they dart down the next street on foot.

"I've had enough of this." She says as she turns her speeder around flying over the fleeing attacker.

Jori Force jumps off the bike landing in front of the cloaked figure's path. The green and yellow sabers clash as Jori tries to tell her attacker she means them no harm. While she senses a touch of anger from within them she can tell now this is not an agent of the dark side. The two Force jump on top of the next building, with the cloaked figure right on her heels Jori takes a different approach. As soon as she plants her feet on the roof she turns and tackles the assailant in mid air. They land with a thud on the ground as the attacker's hood is thrown off.

"Get off me!" states the red face of a Togrutan girl.

"Just stop, I'm a Jedi. I don't want to hurt you." Jori says getting up keeping her lightsaber deactivated as a sign of good faith. The Togrutan stands up shaking the dirt off her blue and white head-tails.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to read you so I wasn't sure who you were. Thought maybe you were a darksider, I'm Ahsoka Tano." the Togrutan says extending her hand.

Jori slides her lightsaber into the holster as she accepts the gesture of friendship. "I was starting to think the same about you, sorry if I scared you."

"No worries but you know you owe me a shoto right?" Ahsoka adds.

Jori smiles just as she hears a siren wailing around the alley. "That's probably local police, we better find somewhere where it's safe to talk." Jori states as the duo leaves the area for safer ground.

They walk back out into the street as Ahsoka states she knows a good place. "We can talk in my ship, c'mon." Ahsoka says as they both don their hoods.

As she follows the Togrutan Jori notices for the first time how young she is. At least a few years older than Ahsoka, Jori figures that during the last years of the Clone Wars the council probably sped up the knighting process on several occasions and promoted many Padawans out of sheer necessity.

As Ahsoka leads the way to the landing grid Jori notices the ship to which she had referred to. An old Correllian G12 outrigger freighter.

"That's your ship?" Jori asks.

"Yup, I was really hoping to find a G9 series, that's the model my master and I used to fly during the war" Ahsoka replies as the loading ramp lowers for boarding. "But this was the closest I could find, his ship was called the Twilight, however I named mine the Skylux."

The girls board the ship closing the ramp behind them. Ahsoka shows Jori the way to the cockpit where she takes the pilot's seat. She removes her cloak revealing her velvet red tunic with grey tights and matching velvet red boots and wrist guards.

"So, I'm glad to see I'm not the only Jedi who survived." Ahsoka states. "What's your name?"

Jori introduces herself as she takes a seat next to her. "Jori Kai, how long have you been on Commenor?"

"A few days, forgive me but I don't seem to recognize you from my temple days, are you still in your Knighthood or are you a Master?"

A little embarrassed Jori informs her that technically she's still a Padawan.

"How is that possible, you're . . . . well . . . older than I am." Ahsoka says trying not to insult her.

Jori explains that she was marooned on Rhen Var with her master early on in the war. "We were there for over two years with no information of what had been going on with the war."

"So how did you finally get off the planet?" Ahsoka asks.

"We were attacked by a sweeper team of clones, they were scouring the outer rim checking all known Jedi sanctuaries or ancient temples." Jori states. "The Empire is obsessed with ensuring that every last Jedi is exterminated. Anyway that's why I said I'm technically still a Padawan. Of course Master Ryaan told me after our first year of solitude that if we had not been stranded that I would have been knighted by then."

"I bet, I had no idea you were on to me until I sensed you reaching deeper into my subconscious. And you sure surprised me with that mid-air tackle!" Ahsoka replies.

Jori smiles then informs her about the Jedi holobooks she and Ryaan had found and studied during their solitude.

"No wonder you were able to keep me from identifying you." Ahsoka adds.

"What about you, how did you survive the purge?"

Ahsoka is about to begin her recount of the Jedi Purge as she notices more security droids coming towards the ship. "Uh I'd love to tell you the story but right now I think we need to get out of here."

Jori notices the droids and suggests they take off.

"Did you bring a ship here as well?" Ahsoka asks as she fires up the engines.

Realizing that her scout ship is relatively safe in dock and paid up through a whole week she advises Ahsoka to go ahead and take off.

Ahsoka lifts the ship off the deck and plots a course away from Chasin City. She heads for Munto Valley where after a short half hour flight she sets the Skylux down in a field on the outskirts of town.

"This should give us sufficient time to talk." Ahsoka says powering down the ship.

"So you were about to tell me how you escaped the clones during the purge." Jori reminds her.

"Actually I wasn't with any clones when I heard about the so called . . ." Ahsoka uses her hands to form quotations, "Jedi insurgency."

"How's that possible?"

"To be honest, I wasn't part of the Jedi Order when it happened." Ahsoka explains. "I left the Order several months prior, that was almost a year now."

Jori remains silent waiting to hear her story.

Ahsoka starts by telling Jori about the bombing at the Jedi Temple. Had she not already learned and seen firsthand the devastation left by the attack on the Temple by the clones Jori might be shocked. However she remains quiet listening to Ahsoka's tale.

Ahsoka continues informing her that she and her master were recalled from Cato Neimoidia to lead the investigation on the attack. They traced the bomber to one of the civilian temple workers and his wife. Then while in custody the wife was mysteriously killed and Ahsoka was framed for her murder.

"I went on the run, tried to prove my innocence. I was even forced to hook up with an old rival to try and find some evidence that I had been framed."

"What happened?"

"The clones captured me and I was banished by the council. I felt so betrayed, no one on the council stood up for me; although Master Yoda did say the decision wasn't unanimous." As Ahsoka continues Jori can see the still fresh pain in her eyes. "I still couldn't believe it, anyway that's when my trial began. Thankfully my Master still believed I was setup, so while my trial was in progress he was looking for proof. Luckily he found it and at the last minute too. You'd think I'd be happy that I was exonerated, until I realized it was my best friend Barriss who'd set me up."

It takes a moment for the name to register in Jori's mind. "Wait, Barriss Offee!? Master Unduli's Padawan?"

Ahsoka simply nods explaining that in the previous year of the war public confidence in the Jedi began to wane. More troubling was that Barriss was not the only Jedi who had become disillusioned with the Order and turned on them.

"Who else betrayed the Order?" Jori asks.

"Pong Krell and Sora Bulq." Ahsoka replies.

With Ahsoka being the first Jedi she has encountered who had served through most of the war Jori began to feel disheartened at the apparent steady decline of the Jedi.

"In the end the council apologized to me and welcomed me back to the Order. They even more or less offered to Knight me but I realized then how much things had truly changed." Ahsoka says remembering that day like it was yesterday. "Although I would never hurt the Jedi Barriss wasn't completely wrong. We had let the war drag on, we weren't willing to take the necessary steps to stop it, we brought ourselves to near extinction."

"No Ahsoka, that was Palpatine! He's the Sith Lord." Jori says.

"I know."

"How?" Jori asks.

"I figured as much when I saw his address to the Senate to change the Republic into the Empire." Ahsoka replies. "Plus many months spent in meditation."

"Then you know our entire downfall was the result of decades of planning, waiting for opportunities to demoralize us bit by bit until just the right time to strike." Jori explains. "The Jedi were put in a tight spot with no way out, we weren't ever meant to be soldiers."

Several moments of silence passes as they both just absorb what cannot be undone. Jori soon realized even after already having several opportunities to do so it never got easier.

Finally Ahsoka breaks the silence, "Anyway I couldn't go back, so I left not having a clue where I would go."

"Where did you go, eventually?" Jori asks.

After I said my goodbyes to my master I walked off the steps of the Jedi Temple and just kept walking . . ."


	11. Ahsoka's Story

_(7 - 9 months before Order 66)_

With no clue what to do next Ahsoka just kept on walking, a million thoughts were running through her mind. How could it have come to this; framed by her best friend, ousted by the council, she was literally heartbroken! What would she do now, where would she go. Of course she still had friends outside of the Jedi that she could turn to if needed but she hated the thought asking for a hand out.

It was late into the evening when she felt the chill of the cool night air breaking her from her stupor, she checked her chrono realizing she'd walked for hours into late evening. It was at that point she realized she didn't even know where she was. Succumbing to the cold and rumbling of her stomach she went to the nearest public comm terminal and decided to reach out to someone for help, but whom to contact? Instinctively she thought of Anakin or Obi-Wan however she wouldn't be able to reach them even if she wanted to. Without a Republic issued comlink using a secure Jedi frequency she wouldn't be able to get in touch with them. Steeling her resolve to "do this on her own" as she had told Anakin she thought of her other non-Jedi friends.

Padme Amidala was an obvious choice although she was too closely involved with the Jedi, not to mention a good friend of Anakin's. If she were to truly start a new life she didn't want any information getting back to Anakin, at least not for a while. She racked her brain trying to think of someone on Coruscant she could contact that wasn't connected to the Jedi or the Senate. She thought of Lux Bonteri but without any funds she wouldn't be able to contact him since he was off-world, then again he was now a Senator as well representing Onderon. Finally she decided on Riyo Chuchi, although she was a senator she figured she could trust her to keep silent regarding her whereabouts. She placed the call on the outdated and twitchy public terminal and a moment later the holo of Senator Chuchi appeared.

"It's me Riyo, I need a favor."

Having just returned to her apartment from Ahsoka's trial herself, Senator Chuchi immediately dispatched her personal speeder pilot to retrieve her friend and bring her back to her personal residence at 500 Republica. Ahsoka denied at first initially asking for a few credits to get herself a place to stay for the night and a meal, however Riyo wouldn't have it. She insisted Ahsoka come to her home.

Just as she was settling in for the night Riyo heard the turbolift door chime and seconds later a distraught looking Ahsoka Tano stepped inside. Sensing she's in need of some comfort Riyo walks over embracing her friend.

"Ahsoka, how are you doing? I'd say congratulations are in order but I'm sure you were just as shocked as I was to learn that it was one of your fellow Jedi who was responsible." Chuchi says. "I assume the council asked you to come back to the Order?"

"They did but I didn't go back." Ahsoka says solemnly.

"What?"

"I left the Order Riyo."

Taken aback by her actions Chuchi searches for the right words but doesn't find any. "I see, I'm so sorry. How can I help?"

"I just need a place to think for a while, I won't stay long." Ahsoka replies.

"Nonsense, you can stay as long as you need. Dinner will be ready soon, I have a few messages to return in the meantime, why don't you take a few minutes for yourself and then you can tell me all about it then."

"Thanks Riyo."

After a short meditation period Ahsoka tells her friend everything that happened that wasn't covered by the holonet news. Still unsure what her plans are Chuchi offers to find her a position within the Pantoran government.

"With your skills you are well suited for a position as a bodyguard, if you're interested in that line of work.

"I'm actually not sure what I'm interested in at the moment. I think I need to spend some time finding myself, if that makes any sense." Ahsoka replies. "However I can't do anything without a source of income but I don't want the Jedi to know my whereabouts right now."

"You have my word this stays between us and I'd be happy to lend you some credits Ahsoka." Chuchi puts in.

Ahsoka starts to deny but realizes that was the reason she came to Riyo in the first place. "I'd really appreciate that, I hate even asking."

"It's my pleasure."

After dinner at her insisting that Ahsoka stay the night Chuchi shows her to the guest bedroom. She spends another hour in meditation before changing into a pair of clean pajamas found in the closet and crawls into bed. The next morning Ahsoka spends another hour in meditation before getting dressed for breakfast. Having decided to spend some time with the Togrutan artisan colony from Kiros Ahsoka informs her friend of her decision to find a transport off-world.

"I can arrange transport to wherever you're headed." Chuchi insists as they sit down to breakfast.

"Thanks Riyo but I need to do this on my own, I just need enough to buy passage off Coruscant." Ahsoka replies. However it is then that she remembers that after the colonists were rescued from Kadavo the Jedi Order relocated the colony to an undisclosed location.

Finding the location was the easy part, she already knew; however getting there might be a problem as there was no registered transport to or from the planet. Dilemma. She momentarily thought about accepting Chuchi's offer but remained steadfast in her resolve to do this on her own, with as little help as possible. She'd need a ship of her own then but she wasn't about to ask Riyo for more money. However if she called in as many favors as she could from her other friends maybe she could buy some junk heap and fix it up herself.

That idea seemed to spark some interest for her; that was one hobby she shared with Anakin, she liked to tinker with stuff. How many times did she spend her down time with him fixing up the Twilight. Ever since they'd swiped that rust bucket from Teth in the early days of her apprenticeship Anakin was always working to upgrade or modify one or another of the ship's systems, and he usually asked her to help. Or ordered her to help. Okay so maybe it wasn't so much of a hobby as an affinity but still, she was good at fixing things!

So with a fresh idea in mind she figured she'd head for Onderon first, Lux would be willing to spot her some credits. After several moments she suddenly realizes Chuchi calling her name.

"Ahsoka, Ahsoka are you alright?"

"Oh I'm sorry, I was lost in thought."

"I could see that, you hadn't said anything for two minutes." Chuchi says.

"Sorry, it's just I have a plan now."

Noticing the positive change in her expression Chuchi can't help but be curious. "You seem to be somewhat excited, whatever it may be."

"Well it's nothing long term but at least I know where I'm headed now.

After breakfast Chuchi and Ahsoka board her speeder which takes them to the spaceport. Dressed in civilian clothing Chuchi steps out following Ahsoka through the main doors of the spaceport lobby.

"Here you go my friend." Chuchi says handing her a small pouch.

Ahsoka looks inside shocked to see, by her estimate, roughly five thousand credits inside! "Riyo this is too much, I can't take this."

"It's nothing for a Galactic Senator besides you must, I insist." Chuchi says.

Almost speechless Ahsoka finally gets a few words to escape her mouth. "I . . . I don't know what to say, I don't know when I will be able to repay you."

"There's no need, it is a gift. You know part of me envies you, this new journey you are about to embark on. Then another part worries for you, leaving everything you've ever known and starting over . . ." Chuchi says quickly wiping away a tear sensing this might be the last time she sees her friend. ". . . but I know you'll be fine."

"I can't thank you enough, for everything Riyo." Ahsoka says embracing her friend.

"You're welcome, may the Force be with you Ahsoka Tano."

As Chuchi returns to her speeder Ahsoka walks to the ticket counter and buys passage to Onderon. Of course with Onderon having just joined the Republic there still no commercial transportation to the planet yet. Instead she buys a ticket to the nearest system and from there she figures she'll be able to get to her destination. She takes her ticket from the droid working the counter and walks towards the designated gate. Suddenly she spots a courier droid running towards her.

"Ahsoka Tano?" the droid says in a cheerful voice.

"Yes." She replies hesitantly.

"I have a package for you." The droid replies as he pulls out a small box from his cargo pack. Before she can ask who it is from the droid says, "Have a nice day!" and runs off to make his next delivery.

She opens the box and is shocked to see a palm sized holoprojector and two large stacks of Republic credits. What interests her more is resting on top of the credits are her lightsabers!

She immediately looks up and scans the area wondering if someone, possibly Anakin, was following her. When she sees no one familiar she reaches out with the Force but still doesn't sense anyone watching her. She walks over to a public comm booth and closes the door behind her as she thumbs on the holoprojector. Expecting Anakin's image to appear she's somewhat surprised to see Obi-Wan's instead.

" _Greetings Ahsoka, please don't be upset with me for contacting you like this but there are some things I need to say to you and I felt if I didn't take the opportunity now I might not ever get the chance to again_. _First of all I want you to know that finding you was by pure accident. After you left this evening . . ."_

Ahsoka looks at the timestamp realizing he recorded this message late last night.

". . . _I went looking for Anakin, I knew he was having a hard time with your decision to leave and went to try to console him. I won't concern you with the details of how I found you but rest assured Anakin doesn't know, no one does. Secondly, I want you to know that through everything you just endured I constantly urged the council to stand by you. I knew you couldn't be responsible for the crimes which you were accused and I strongly voted against your banishment. Although I'm sure that amounts to little if any solace for you now."_

While it doesn't Ahsoka is happy to know Anakin wasn't the only one who believed in her she is somewhat surprised as Obi-Wan takes a slow breath seemingly having trouble finding his next words.

" _Thirdly, well you know Anakin is like my brother and when your former Padawan has an apprentice of his own you feel responsible for them as well. You, me and Anakin have been through a lot together these last two years. Anakin and I have watched you grow and on some level I've always felt like you were my Padawan too. And so wherever life takes you I figured you might need these."_ Obi-Wan says holding up her lightsaber hilts in the holo. " _I can't imagine what you're feeling right now and I know no apology will make it better but I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of, thus the credits. Don't worry they're untraceable so please use them. I know things may seem bleak for you now but I want you to know I am very proud of you and we will miss you. May the Force be with you Ahsoka."_

A fresh pang of sadness hits her having never truly realized how much she meant to the benevolent Jedi Master, while glad to know his true feelings toward her it made her decision that much harder knowing she might never see him or Anakin again.

She deletes the message then quickly counts up the credits totaling ten thousand! Initially she thinks about just giving them away to the needy but as she thinks over Obi-Wan's heartfelt message again she decides to use them towards a ship of her own. In addition to the money Riyo gave her she was already well on her way.

She leaves the comm booth and walks into one of the shops lining the terminal of the spaceport and buys a small backpack. She stuffs the box inside then realizes when the security checkpoint scans her pack they'll undoubtedly pick up the weapons inside. Realizing the only way to pass through with them is by identifying herself as a Jedi. Not wanting too much attention she also buys a hooded cloak from the store and attaches her lightsabers to her belt.

It felt good wearing them again, she'd almost felt naked without them since she left the temple yesterday. When she walks up to the security checkpoint the droid notices the Jedi weapons on her hips and simply waves her through without another question.

The next day Ahsoka steps off a connecting transport to Iziz, the capital city of Onderon. She finds a public comm terminal, realizing she should really think about purchasing her own comlink, and contacts Lux.

"Hey Lux, I was wondering if I could come see you." she says once his holo appears.

"Absolutely, the Jedi give you some down time?" Lux asks not knowing about her recent situation.

"Not exactly."

Sensing something wrong he invites her to come and asks when he should expect her.

"Actually I'm already here." Ahsoka replies.

"You, you're on Onderon?"

"In Iziz."

"You're kidding, well give me your location and I'll send a speeder to pick you up."

When she arrives at the palace she tells Lux everything that has happened in the last couple of days. Just like Chuchi, he almost has trouble believing it.

"How can I help?"

* * *

Once he was able to clear his schedule for a few days Lux escorts Ahsoka, via his personal speeder, to several used ship dealers found throughout the planet. Not finding anything of interest thus far, or at least anything she could successfully negotiate a price on, Ahsoka asks Lux if she can borrow a shuttle and an astromech droid to begin checking elsewhere off-world. He arranges the ship and asks if he can accompany her as she continues her search.

"I did clear my schedule after all." He says.

"Alright but no senatorial staff, including your pilot. I'll fly."

"Fine by me, it'll be just like that time on Carlac."

"Well not _just_ like I hope." Ahsoka replies.

"Right, no Death Watch this time. I promise."

A few hours later a diplomatic shuttle bearing the crimson hue of the Republic lifts off the palace landing pad. With Ahsoka at the controls the ship makes its way out of Onderon's atmosphere as she decides on their destination. As she begins plotting jump coordinates into the navicomputer the cockpit door slides open and Lux walks in taking a seat next to her.

She teases him about the irony of the ship's class being so similar to that of the Phoenix; the ship she and Lux were using during the encounter with Death Watch on Carlac.

"The Chancellor sent it, as a gift I suppose, once King Dendup and I formally announced Onderon's intention to join the Republic." Lux explains. "Since it is intended to ferry me to and from Coruscant or other diplomatic missions the King gave me the privilege of naming her."

"What did you call her?" Ahsoka asks curiously.

"Steela's Dream."

Ahsoka smiles remembering their fallen friend. "I bet Saw liked it." Ahsoka is a little surprised when she notices the downcast expression on Lux's face.

"Actually I haven't seen Saw much lately; after we freed Onderon General Tandin gave him a commission in the army. He spent the next few weeks hunting down the remaining pockets of battle droids. Since then he's been busy passing on his training to new recruits." Lux says. "He didn't say much when I told him the name of the ship, I think he's still having trouble coping with her death."

"I'm sorry Lux."

"It wasn't your fault Ahsoka, he knows that. It's just war, we all knew the risks. So where are we headed?" Lux asks obviously ready for a change of topic.

"Ord Mantell." Ahsoka replies.

"Don't a lot of smugglers and bounty hunters hang out there?"

"Yeah but it's the best shot to finding something that will suit my purposes. And it can't be any more dangerous that tangling with Death Watch.

"When I said it'll be just like that time on Carlac you know I was kidding right?" he says curiously.

"I know, besides you have nothing to worry about." Ahsoka says pulling the lever for the hyperdrive. "If we run into trouble, I'll protect you."

Lux cannot help but get excited by her playfulness, he'd always noticed a slight spark between the two of them but never really focused on it. Given that she was a member of the Jedi Order which didn't allow one to have such relationships. Then there was Steela, although he hadn't know her long he felt a growing connection to her as well during their time together. However with her passing he turned to his work as Senator to Onderon.

With Ahsoka now free from the restraints of the Jedi Order he began to wonder if that spark, which obviously still existed, could possibly turn into a flame. As the stars turned into starlines with the jump to hyperspace he began to dwell on it more. He respected and cared for Ahsoka too much to try and broach the subject with her so soon. Not only had she _just_ left her entire life behind but she came to him for help, he wouldn't dare make things awkward between them. Ultimately he decided to just let things progress on their own, she hadn't told him of her long term plans after procuring a ship. Perhaps she didn't even know herself yet.

"What'cha thinking about over there?" Ahsoka says noticing he was deep in thought.

"Hmm, oh. You, actually." _Blast! Did I actually just say that? It couldn't have come off well._ "I mean, just where you'll go from here . . . in life that is. It has to be exciting and scary for you at the same time."

"My friend Riyo said more or less the same thing to me. It is a little nerve-racking but I'm sure the Force will guide me."

 _Nice save Bonteri._ "Once a Jedi always a Jedi I suppose."

"It's who I am, it always will be."

The next day after searching through several more used dealers and junkyards Ahsoka finally finds "the one" she's been looking for. Sitting unnoticed by most at the far end of the lot Ahsoka spots the Corellian made outrigger freighter similar to Anakin's Twilight.

However this one she notices must be a more recent model than the Twilight's G9 series as it was easily six meters shorter in length. Plus the main wing protruding from the starboard side housed three sublight engines versus the G9's two; also the swing wing was positioned above the main wing and from the look of its hinge appeared to only swing out sixty-five degrees instead of ninety. All differences aside Ahsoka knew immediately she wanted it! However she expected it to be just as much the junk heap the Twilight was when they "commandeered" it from the Separatists. Oh but it was going to be so much fun working on her! Perhaps the time spent on it might even be therapeutic in a way, giving her time to figure out what was next for her in this new life.

Ahsoka knew from watching Anakin not to show her hand to the dealer too soon, she was determined not to get swindled. Even with the fifteen thousand credits she received from Riyo and Obi-Wan she knew she couldn't afford to spend too much on the ship, just from the look of her she knew it would need a lot of work. She walks over to the dealer, a Duro, and asks how much for the outrigger.

"That hunk of junk?" The dealer says incredulously. "Ten thousand."

Hoping to bluff the dealer Ahsoka simply turns to Lux and says, "I heard there was a Sullustan dealer nearby with some good stock."

"Okay, okay it was just my opening number." Replies the Duro.

"I can't wait to hear your next one." She says.

"Eight."

"Four." Ahsoka replies.

"Seventy-five hundred."

Ahsoka thinks for a moment. "What kind of shape is she in?"

"Have a look for yourself." The Duro says waving them towards the boarding ramp.

"What model is she, I had a . . . . a friend who owned a G9 once."

"G12, I remember the G9's. I dunno why they decided to make this series so much smaller, less cargo space." Replies the Duro.

"That doesn't bother me so much." Ahsoka replies.

After a thorough inspection, by herself and the droid Lux brought along, Ahsoka asks if they can take it for a test flight. The Duro agrees but remains on board as she powers up the engines. After a short test flight including a quick hop through hyperspace and back Ahsoka lands the ship back at the lot and recommences negotiations.

"She's in better condition than I thought but she still needs a lot of work. Five thousand."

"You're robbing me at that, seven!" The Duro counters as they all step off the ship.

"She needs a new hyperdrive, you said it yourself. I'll go up to fifty-eight." Ahsoka replies.

"Ugh, sixty-eight. I'll even throw in the droid." The dealer says pointing to the astromech.

"The droid belongs to me you nerf herder!" retorts Lux.

"Okay sorry, no need to be rude."

"Laser brain." Lux says under his breath.

"Sixty-seven" The Duro comes back.

"Sixty-two, final offer!" Ahsoka replies.

The Duro ponders it for a moment then finally agrees. "Deal."

Ahsoka and Lux step back aboard the ship as she flies back to the spaceport landing near the Steela's Dream. As Ahsoka follows Lux and his droid off the ship he asks if this is goodbye. While she initially intending to take the ship to the Togruta artisan colony to work on, she quickly realizes that while she might be given a place to work there she wouldn't have easy access to get any necessary parts or tools.

"I do have somewhere I plan to go but actually I was going to ask another favor of you, if you don't mind."

"Anything Ahsoka, just name it." Lux says.

"I need a place to work on her." She says gesturing towards the ship. "Where I'm going there are no establishments to get the parts I need, no commercial transport or public communications."

"Consider it done, so I guess I can have the droid take Steela's Dream back to Onderon and I can ride with you?" Lux says cautious not to seem too excited at the prospect of a prolonged involvement with her.

"Actually I have an errand to run first. I have a friend I need to see about helping me fix the hyperdrive. I know my way around an engine pretty well but when it comes to the hyperdrive he knows his stuff better than anyone, aside from maybe Anakin." Ahsoka explains.

"Oh okay, so then I guess I will head back to Onderon and get things arranged for you while you go see your friend."

"Sounds good, I'll contact you when I make my approach."

* * *

 **I had so much fun re-writing this chapter as well as the next. Since this was written mid-season 3 of Clone Wars I originally had Ahsoka Knighted and in the field during Order 66 with Rex letting her go. Also had her flying the Twilight, so to keep it more in line with canon I had to scrap her backstory and start over but I am more pleased with what I've done with her now. Hope you enjoy it too.**

 **Also I went back and watched the Kadavo episodes and even though the Jedi didn't relocate the Kiros colony I felt it was logical. Being the pacifists they were why would you go back to the one place the Separatists/Dooku knew where to find you?**

 **Appreciate those who are following the story, please keep reviewing!**


	12. Ahsoka's Story Part II

Two days later after receiving her transmission Lux sends Ahsoka landing coordinates advising her that he'll meet her there. He hops in his speeder and heads towards the edge of town, when he approaches the location he spots her ship coming in over the western horizon.

From the air Ahsoka checks the coordinates one last time then finally spots a red X spray painted on the ground just inside the city walls adjacent to a small structure. She sets the ship down on the designated pad set between two rows of poles, to which she has no idea what they are for, and lowers the boarding ramp as the ship begins off-gassing. Just as she steps off the ramp she sees Lux pull up just outside the structure.

"Where's your friend?" Lux asks noticing she is alone.

"Couldn't find him, I left him a message though and told him I'd be here." Ahsoka says examining the poles trying to figure out what they are. "Hope you don't mind but I dropped your name in case he had trouble located me. What are those things?"

"Retractable awning, we've been getting a lot of rain recently." Lux says pressing a switch.

"You had this installed in less than a day?" Ahsoka asks as the awning begins rolling out to cover the ship. "How much did this cost you?"

"No, no it was already installed. I just purchased the whole site."

"Lux this is too much."

"It's really not. The previous owner used it to restore speeder bikes but there wasn't much of a market here so he moved off-world. So it's yours, use it as long as you want, whenever you want. There's an empty tool chest left in the shop and I didn't think you'd let me arrange for an apartment for you so I setup a bunk in the office." Lux explains. "There's also a fresher and food in the mini-reefer unit. I can get you a Tee-Muss if you need something to ferry parts back from the marketplace, unless you want to use my speeder . . . "

"Lux stop, it's more than enough. I made another stop on the way back and picked up enough parts to keep me busy for a while. Thank you."

"You're welcome, are you sure there's nothing else you need?" Lux asks.

"Eventually an astromech droid to interface with the ship's computer but I've got enough to do on my own before I'm ready for that." Ahsoka explains.

"Just let me know. Well, I guess I will let you be." He says after a long pause.

"I really appreciate everything Lux." Ahsoka says as he walks back to his speeder.

"Anytime."

Throughout the next two months Ahsoka spent most of her time working on her thus far unnamed ship. When she wasn't working on the renovation she was meditating or sleeping.

Lux stopped by from time to time insistent that he treat her to a decent meal since she was pretty much living off rations from the mini-reefer. Unfortunately conversation between the two of them was slightly dull as she didn't have much to contribute except for how the ship was coming along and he figured she wasn't interested in how things were progressing with the war. So he kept it directed towards the ship since that seemed to be the one thing she was excited about. Often he asked her what she was going to name it; she had been thinking that over for the last two months unable to come to a decision.

Initially she thought of the Twilight II but she knew she wanted something different, unique. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable with it being a reminder of Anakin or anything, the ship already represented that which is why she wanted it in the first place. She just wanted it to be her own. She went through several iterations trying on synonyms for the Twilight like Moonlight, Starlight and even a few antonyms like Moonrise, Nightfall but soon rejected each one. She knew eventually inspiration would strike, until then she put the thought out of her mind.

By the end of those two months Ahsoka had nearly the entire ship renovated; although she had yet to overhaul the hyperdrive she decided to head for relocated colony from Kiros. Lux assured her that the "garage" as they had come to call it would be waiting for her if she ever needed a place to set down for repairs. She thanked Lux once more then reminded him that if her elusive friend came looking for her to give them the comm frequency for the Skylux.

"The Skylux?" Lux says confused.

"That's right, I decided on it last night." she replies.

Okay so she spliced his name with part of Anakin's but it was still her own. She was tempted to work in some mention of Obi-Wan and Riyo but realized the Skylux Obi-Chi or some other goofy variation sounded too forced. Thus she honored her former master and her good friend with the name.

"It fits, I like it." Lux says. "So how will I know who this friend of yours is if they come looking for you?"

"Trust me you can't miss him. Thanks again for everything." she replies knowing he wants to say more.

Over the last two months she steadily realized that Lux had developed feelings for her. She had to admit she did feel somewhat intrigued by the prospect of a romantic relationship. Back when she was training him, Steela and her brother to fight the Separatists she remembered feeling, what confused, jealous even, when she noticed a little spark between him and Steela. However she ultimately felt the Force was guiding her elsewhere.

When he says nothing she finally breaks the silence. "I'm sorry Lux, I just can't give you what you need."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, I know how you feel about me."

"I'm that transparent huh?" he says a little bashful.

"No, I could sense it. I want you to know I'm flattered and although you might think I no longer have to live by the Jedi Code I'm just not built that way. I fear I'd just end up hurting you."

"I understand, I do . . . really. I kind of expected this but I figured it was worth the shot. Just um . . . . just tell me this won't be the last time I see you okay."

"You have my word, it won't be. I still have to overhaul that hyperdrive remember."

Lux simply smiles. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Me too."

* * *

 _(Present day)_

"After that I spent a month in seclusion on the artisan colony, meditating, working in the village and what not. I tell you I got bored real fast." Ahsoka says.

"In a place like that you never found peace?" Jori asks. "Or at least guidance from the Force?"

"The only thing I could ascertain was that I was still meant uphold the ideals of the Jedi. To ensure justice, to help people so that's what I did. I left the colony and began a mercy mission to help refugees displaced by the war. I spent a few thousand credits on food, clothing and medical supplies and delivered them refugee camps across the outer rim. I ferried people across the quadrant so they could reunite with their families. But before long my funding starting running out so I had to starting charging for transport. However refugees don't usually have much to spend, if anything, so I found a position with a non-profit relief organization who agreed to pay for fuel if I ran shipments of medical supplies across the galaxy for them." Ahsoka explains.

"So you were with this peace corps or what not when you heard about the purge?" Jori asks.

"Not quite, we're almost there though."

"Okay so how long did you fly missions for the relief effort?" Jori asks.

Ahsoka taps her chin repeatedly trying to think, "I dunno five or six months maybe. The thing is I didn't quite feel I was where I belonged at the moment but at least I was making a difference. I had no immediate plans to quit until my hyperdrive went kablooey one trip."

"Time to find that friend of yours I take it?"

"Yeah, luckily I was close to my destination when it happened so I delivered my goods and reached out to him again. Apparently he never got my message, that or I mistranslated it." Ahsoka explains. "Anyway I asked him to meet me on Onderon and gave him the coordinates for the garage . . ."

* * *

 _(One week before Order 66)_

With no functioning hyperdrive the trip back to Onderon takes Ahsoka three days to complete. She sets the Skylux down on the landing pad at the garage surprised to find Lux already waiting for her. True to her word she commed Lux to tell him she was heading back to Onderon. He is slightly disturbed when he notices the dark circles under her eyes and the dazed look on her face as she steps off the ship.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

"Three day trip, no hyperdrive. I figured no biggie I'll catch up on some sleep, that is until the autopilot conked out on me too."

"Oh no."

"I need some caf." Ahsoka says.

"You need to sleep, the bunk is still where you left it in the office. I had some clean sheets put on this morning. Why don't you sack out for a while."

"Can't I'm expecting someone."

"You told me remember, I sent a speeder to the spaceport to bring him here when he arrives. His transport isn't due to land for another two hours. Go to sleep Ahsoka, I will wake you when he arrives." Lux says forcefully.

Too exhausted to even reply Ahsoka simply walks into the office and topples over the bunk falling asleep instantly. Almost three hours later she is awoken by the smell of fresh stimcaf, she lifts her head up with one eye begrudgingly open wondering who dared to wake her.

"Your friend is will be here shortly." Lux says holding the cup of hot stimcaf in front of her.

She sits up taking the cup from him and takes a long drink as she attempts to force her eyes open. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Ahsoka takes the cup with her as she walks to the fresher to splash some cold water on her face.

"So while we wait maybe you could tell me what you've been up to these last few months." Lux says waiting patiently in the other room.

"Quite a lot actually." she says coming out of the fresher looking more awake.

Lux smiles at her waiting to hear the story but is interrupted as they hear the sound of a speeder pulling up outside.

They walk to the entrance together just as a seven foot walking carpet enters! More than a little shocked Lux suddenly realizes this is the friend Ahsoka mentioned when the hairy mammoth pulls her into a tight bear hug emitting a growl of happiness.

"It's good to see you too Chewbacca!" Ahsoka says.

"Your friend is a Wookiee!?" says Lux.

"Told you you couldn't miss him." Ahsoka replies picking up the cup of cafe from the counter where she had set it.

After being introduced Lux watches as the Wookiee begins spouting off a series of guttural sounds directed at Ahsoka.

"No Chewbacca, I'm not here on Jedi business. I left the order several months back."

At hearing that Chewbacca tilts his head sympathetically emitting a soft whine of concern.

"There's no need to worry pal, I'm doing just fine. I called you here because I need help fixing the hyperdrive on my ship. To be honest it needs a complete overhaul."

Obviously excited and willing to help Chewbacca asks her to lead the way.

"Is there anything else you need Ahsoka before I return to the palace?" Lux asks.

"No except maybe another cup of this." She says gesturing to the half finished cup of caf in her hand.

"There's a fresh pot in the office."

"Thanks Lux." she says leading Chewbacca towards the Skylux.

For the next three days the unlikely duo works to disassemble and reassemble the hyperdrive, cleaning and replacing several components on the way. On the fourth day after all diagnostics come back looking good Ahsoka and Chewbacca take the Skylux up for its first test of the hyperdrive. After spending the day making several jumps of varying distance they finally return to Onderon just after dusk pleased its performance.

As they approach the garage they notice a small shuttle sitting on the landing pad. When they step off the ship they spot Lux frantically running towards them.

"Ahsoka, I've been trying to comm you all day."

"We've been in and out of hyperspace all day, what's wrong?"

"Chewbacca's friend here arrived this afternoon looking for him." Lux says as they turn around noticing the other Wookiee stepping out of the ship.

"Since when did you learn to speak Wookiee?" Ahsoka asks.

"I didn't, I got a protocol droid from the palace to translate." Lux replies as Chewbacca begins growling.

"Tarfful?" Ahsoka says translating Chewbacca's words as she recognizes him from the party of Wookiees that rescued them from the Trandoshan hunters. "What's he doing here?"

"He said there's been a droid invasion on Kashyyyk!" Lux explains.

Hearing that Chewbacca erupts into a series of growls angry at the audacity of the Separatist invasion.

Ahsoka watches as Chewbacca and Tarfful exchange words quickly realizing her friend has to leave to go defend his home.

"Chewbacca," Ahsoka says halting his exit. "I'm sorry to hear about Kashyyyk, part of me wants to go with you to help but I . . . that's not really my place . . . I'm sure the Jedi Council will send sup . . . " she's interrupted as Chewbacca gently takes her chin in his hand tilting her head upwards.

Lux watches as the Wookiee utters a series of quiet growls and whines to Ahsoka, while unable to understand what he is saying he can tell he holds no grudge against her for not being able to help.

"Thanks for understanding, I hope I see you again someday too." Ahsoka says as she embraces the big lug.

Chewbacca hugs her tightly then pulls away and says something else as he walks towards the shuttle.

"And may the Force be with you."

As the shuttle takes to the skies Lux walks up next to Ahsoka placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "What did he say?"

"He said he knows I have to find my own path now."

Ahsoka remains on Onderon for a few more days intending fix the autopilot, as well as catch up on some sleep before leaving. She didn't sleep much while Chewbacca was here, she didn't feel right about sacking out while he was still working with the hyperdrive. She'd burned through pot after pot of stimcaf to stay up sleeping only when he did, which wasn't much.

Finally deciding on sleep first Ahsoka crashes on the bunk in the office not waking for nearly twenty hours! This time when she wakes she avoids the caf and opts for a run through town followed by a shower and then meditation before getting to work on the autopilot.

By the second day after a replacement part and help from one of Lux's astromechs she's able to get the autopilot functioning properly. That's when the Force tremor hits her.

She opens herself to the Force feeling the darkness and danger everywhere, instinctively she reaches for her lightsabers but opts to remain calm and try to sense where the danger is coming from. Oddly enough she is unable to sense no direct threat to her at this time. A cold shiver runs down her back as she delves deeper into the Force searching for answers and guidance. With no clear picture she decides it is time to leave. She breaks out of the impromptu meditation just as her comlink on the ship begins flashing. She hits the switch and Lux's image appears.

"Lux I'm bringing your droid back right away, something's happened." Ahsoka says not yet mentioning her decision to leave.

"Good, good. There's something you need to see, it's urgent." Lux replies.

"What is it?"

"Just get here and hurry."

She disconnects the transmission and not wanting to waste a second she uses the Force to gather all the tools strung about the control panel, putting them in the toolbox and stowing it as she powers up the ship.

Within moments she sets the Skylux down on the palace landing pad, not having time in the short trip to test the autopilot. The astromech rolls off the ship behind her as she runs into the palace. When she arrives at his office she notices Lux has the holoprojector on his desk tuned to the Galactic Holonet.

"What's going on?"

"The news has been saying that there's been an unconfirmed report of an assassination attempt on the Supreme Chancellor, by the Jedi!"

"What!?" Ahsoka says shocked. "That's impossible."

"I thought so too but they're saying there were three Jedi Council members found dead in the Chancellor's office. They say he's about to address the Senate at any moment."

 _Council members. At least Anakin wouldn't be among them, would he? Would he have ascended to the rank of Master by now, possibly but not likely on the Council yet. He was more than likely safe and not one of the three but then Obi-Wan could be._ Thought Ahsoka.

"Ahsoka the address it starting." Lux says as the holonet news switches over to their cameras inside the Senate.

Ahsoka watches in stunned silence as the Supreme Chancellor covered his now scarred face with a red cloak as he began to explain the recent events. Still having trouble believing the situation her world begins to unravel when she hears the Chancellor say the following:"

 _"_ _. . . the remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated!"_

Although eager to get off-world immediately Ahsoka stays wanting, needing to hear the rest of it. Lux switches off the holo once the address concludes.

An Empire? After standing for a thousand years the Republic was being reformed and the Jedi were to be cast out and hunted down as traitors. Was this why she felt so conflicted and decided to leave when the council asked her to come back. Could the council be capable of such things? No, ultimately she had to believe the Jedi council were framed just like she was. The dark side had grown stronger and stronger since the day the Clone Wars started, it felt incredibly strong now. She knew the Sith had to be behind this but then did that mean?

"Play it again!" Ahsoka demands.

Lux rewinds the broadcast and this time Ahsoka focuses closely on Palpatine, on the Force. While she cannot be certain when the broadcast ends the second time she senses through her meditation that the dark side surrounds the Chancellor. Could he be the Sith Lord the Council had been looking for throughout the war? Either way she knew it changed nothing, she had to leave Onderon and she had to leave now.

"I have to leave Lux, now." she says heading for the door.

"What?"

"You heard him, they're going to be hunting down every Jedi in the galaxy now."

"Ahsoka you're not a Jedi anymore." When he sees the scowl in her reaction Lux raises his hands apologetically. "That's not what I meant but you're not part of the Jedi Order anymore."

"You think that is going to matter?" she says taking a moment to process the chain of events. "Okay you might be right, for now. They'll search out all the active Jedi Knights first but this whole thing had to be orchestrated by the Sith. Once they start killing off known Jedi one by one then they'll scour the galaxy for the rest of us, that includes me. I was apprentice to Anakin Skywalker, the Hero without Fear. They could perceive me as a threat. I'm not safe here, more importantly you're not safe here as long as I stay."

"How can you possibly know all that?"

"You said it yourself several months ago, once a Jedi always a Jedi. I'm still attuned to the Force and I've already sensed a massive shift towards the dark side." Ahsoka explains.

While not fully understanding how the Force works Lux accepts her reasoning. "Okay, well the garage will be there if you ever need it."

"You don't understand Lux, I won't be coming back. Ever. This is goodbye."

The gravity of the situation finally hits him, knowing there's nothing he can do or say to change her mind he walks her out to the landing pad. He's a little surprised when she embraces him before walking up the boarding ramp.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way." She says fighting back the tears that threaten to come.

"Me too." He says holding her tightly.

As she pulls back she places her hand on his cheek affectionately. "In another life . . ."

"I know, that would have been nice." he takes her hand from his face kissing it tenderly. "Be safe out there, may the Force be with you Ahsoka Tano, I will never forget you."

Struggling to come up with the right words Ahsoka finally decides just to say nothing and remember the moment. She smiles at him one last time and turns to board the Skylux.


	13. Keeping Secrets

_(Present day)_

"After that I left. I couldn't go back to the relief effort, if they found out I was a Jedi they might have turned me over to the Empire. I thought about heading for Coruscant to see if there were any Jedi left there I might be able to help but soon ruled that idea out, I knew it would be too dangerous." Ahsoka explains.

"You were right, I can speak from experience." Jori says remembering her recent visit to the ravaged Jedi temple with her master.

"I've spent the months since planet hopping around the galaxy, found myself out here a few days ago. I figured if Commenor didn't work out I'd head for Naboo, I've been there before and my master was fond of it as well. Until today I've had absolutely no contact with any other Jedi, I'm glad you found me." Ahsoka says.

"Actually I wasn't expecting to find you out here at all, I'm searching for a young human boy who has Jedi blood within him." Jori states.

"You mean a youngling?" Ahsoka replies as she reaches into an upper compartment and retrieves two nutrient bars. She tosses one to Jori as she retakes her seat.

Jori explains that the boy was not identified as a force sensitive at birth. "Actually that may not even be accurate, the council could have sensed his presence at birth but not conscripted him because of his father." As she tears open the wrapping on the snack she notices Ahsoka's interested glare. "His father was a Jedi Master, exiled from the order many years before the war." Ahsoka flashes a skeptical expression assuming the worst about this exiled Jedi. "He wasn't a Sith, I can guarantee you of that. His former padawan was my master." Jori says taking a bite of the snack.

"Sounds like some story." Ahsoka replies taking a bite of her nutrient bar.

"Not as painful as yours I'm afraid." Jori says as she proceeds to tell her new ally the events that took place starting from their escape from Rhen Var. From meeting an old friend of Master Ryaan's on Vergesso, fighting against the Empire on the Sullust moon and much more leading up to the present. However when she reaches the part where she learned of Ryaan and Ranik's death at the hand of Darth Vader she stops.

"I'm so sorry about your master. Darth Vader? I've not heard that name before but it's obvious he's a Sith. Have you had contact with any other Jedi since the war?" Ahsoka asks. Jori shakes her head sideways as she finishes off her snack. "I'm just wondering if Master Plo or my own master have survived."

Suddenly Jori realizes she has meet Ahsoka before, "Plo Koon? He's the Jedi Master who conscripted you and brought you to the temple right?"

"Yeah that's right, how did you know that?" Ahsoka says surprised.

"I dunno, it must be an old memory I just conjured up. I remember I was only about four or five years old myself when me and my other class mates went to see the new group of conscripts that were brought to the temple. Master Plo Koon was carrying you in his arms . . . you were crying and Master Plo coddled you and said there there little Soka." Jori says.

"Wow, I don't remember that." Ahsoka takes a moment of silence then says. ". . . . you think he's out there somewhere, hiding like us?"

"I hope so." Jori says as she realizes something. "So wait, Master Plo didn't choose you as his Padawan?"

"No, actually I wasn't chosen, I was appointed by Master Yoda."

"Wow, you must have been an impressive student for him to assign you himself." Jori states.

"I guess, originally I was told I was to be Master Kenobi's apprentice but then per Master Yoda's suggestion I became Master Skywalker's."

A cold shiver of fear runs through Jori at hearing the mention of Skywalker. Not once during her story had Ahsoka mentioned her former master by name. And Jori herself had left out the part about Master Ryaan deducing that it could be Skywalker who now wore the mask of death incarnate. Then she realizes the moniker Ahsoka had given her ship, the Skylux, named obviously after Lux and Anakin.

She remains stunned for a moment realizing that Ahsoka was once his Padawan and unsure how she'll ever tell her the truth. Maybe she shouldn't, her knowledge of Vader's identity were just suspicions, albeit strong ones given the information they learned from Senator Organa about his secret relationship with Amidala and the twins she delivered just before her death.

"What's wrong?" Ahsoka says interrupting her thoughts.

"Uh nothing, just a little surprised you apprenticed to Anakin Skywalker. I wouldn't have thought of him ever taking on a Padawan."

"Believe me he didn't either, we kinda butted heads our first day together. Wait, so did you know him?" Ahsoka asks.

"Oh um, not well. Of course who in the order hadn't heard the tale of the supposed Chosen One being found by Master Qui-Gon Jinn."

Ahsoka knew that to be true, everyone in the order knew of Anakin's history, being brought to the temple at nine years old to begin his training.

"But I did serve with Anakin briefly during the Rhen Var mission which led to Master Ryaan and I being marooned." continues Jori. "So wait, then Master Kenobi was the one who sent you the package with the credits and your lightsabers?"

"That's right."

As Ahsoka's attention is diverted out through the main viewport Jori begins wondering if she should tell her that she knew Master Kenobi was alive and well living on Tatooine. Of course if she did she'd have to explain to Ahsoka how she came by that information which in the process would lead to back to Skywalker. Trying to decide what, if anything, she should tell her about Skywalker her thoughts are interrupted as she sees Ahsoka grab a pair of macrobinoculars.

"What's up?"

"I saw a reflection in the field ahead." Ahsoka replies stepping out of the port hatch onto the engine housing.

Jori follows as she looks through the optics she spots the reflection again then sees the long barrel of a sniper rifle!

"Move!" Ahsoka says pushing Jori back in the ship as shots ring out hitting the hull of the Skylux. Ahsoka closes the hatch, jumps in the pilot seat and boosts up the sublight engines. "How did they find us?"

"The security droids from Chasin City, they must have tagged the ship." Jori replies.

"No way, I scanned the ship's hull when we left." Ahsoka replies.

Jori is about to take the copilot seat when she notices a group of clones rising from their hidden positions in the tall grass. "Missile!" Jori states as a clone fires a rocket launcher towards the ship. "Get us off the ground!" She says as she reaches outwards with the force deflecting the projectile backwards. It spirals out of its flight pattern and explodes taking out a few clones.

Just as Ahsoka lifts the ship off the ground several more clones arise and open fire on the ship. The Skylux spins around extending its upper wing and pushes towards space.

"How did the Empire get here so fast?" Jori says.

"They must have had a sweeper team already stationed somewhere on the planet, long before we ever got here." Ahsoka theorizes.

"Um . . . I don't think we're that lucky." Jori says noticing the Venator class Star Destroyer orbiting the planet! "That story of yours must have taken longer to tell than we realized."

"Well you wanted to hear it." Ahsoka chides. "Should we take them on?"

"Are you kidding!? Get us out of here." Jori replies.

Ahsoka quickly informs her that she cannot program the navicomputer from her seat. "It has to be done by an astromech or from the copilot seat, my console shorted out on me last week. I haven't had a chance to fix it."

"Okay get your droid in here, we've got fighters heading our way." Jori says spotting the Star Destroyer deploying Arc-170's. She turns back to Ahsoka who has a slightly dumbfounded look on her face. "What?"

"I never said I had an astromech with me, I said it had to be done from the copilot chair."

"Everything the hard way!" Jori replies manning the navicomputer. "Okay where to?"

Ahsoka rambles off a few planets but Jori states that they should pick one that's not likely to have more Imperial forces nearby. Ahsoka lists off a few more planets then comes to Naboo "Trust me, its safe!" Ahsoka says.

"Alright, you'd better charge up those guns this will take a few minutes." Jori says as Ahsoka brings the ship around firing all three guns at the incoming squad. Three or four ships are caught in the line of fire as the remaining fighters scatter. "Get us out of here Ahsoka!" Jori says still working on the navicomputer.

Ahsoka executes a loop and heads for open space. "You bet!" Ahoska says pressing the switch to activate a swivel on the starboard wing gun. She fires damaging an Arc and destroying another.

"Coordinates almost locked in." Jori says as the hull begins taking fire "Course plotted, punch it!" Jori states.

Ahsoka pulls the hyperdrive lever just as the port side engine is hit. They successfully make the jump to lightspeed escaping the Imperial fighters.

"What was that?" Jori asks.

Ahsoka informs her that the main engine was hit but nothing appears to be seriously damaged.

* * *

Since leaving Xagobah Katal spent his time in hyperspace repairing his damaged battle mask. Killer informs him they're about to reach their destination as Katal takes his seat and brings the ship out of lightspeed over Commenor. He spots the Imperial Star Destroyer nearby and maneuvers out of its range to come in for landing. He heads for Chasin City as Killer informs him it's the largest populated area on the planet.

"Scan the spaceport's database for recently docked ships Killer, rule out freighters and other large vessels." Loa says.

The droid soon finds two ships that match the description. Having not seen the Jedi's ship on Xagobah Katal checks out both vessels. Killer informs him the first listed shows to be paid up for docking fees for the next month and that the ship is not fitted with weapons of any kind. Killer then informs the second ship was just paid for a week of docking fees. Katal takes a closer look of the scanned ship noticing it is fitted with standard laser cannons and shields.

"Dispatch spy probe."

Killer plugs into the cockpit jack and fires a small spherical droid which he pilots near the scout ship. Knowing that times are hard for the Jedi now Loa doesn't bother to put a tracking beacon on the hull of her ship. Killer whistles and beeps something in response.

"No, the Jedi aren't that clumsy not to check their ship for tags. This will suffice." Loa says as he lands the Arrow in a bay nearby. "Stay on the ship and let me know as soon as any human females approach it." Loa states exiting the ship. Realizing he could be here awhile he makes his way to the nearest restaurant for a drink.

* * *

On board the Star Destroyer Blood Saber, currently orbiting Commenor, Admiral Soelin is receiving the report from the fighters that the Jedi escaped.

"Get back on board immediately, " Soelin orders as he turns to the helmsman. "Plot their trajectory and set a course accordingly. Initiate the hyperdrive as soon as the 170's are aboard."

"Yes Admiral!" the helmsmen replies.

Having only been in service for a few weeks the Blood Saber, named for color of Darth Vader's lightsaber, was originally assigned to be a part of the battle group tasked with the mission given to the Jedi Hunter I. Since the JHI was destroyed the Blood Saber became the flagship for that mission continuing to scour the galaxy for any Jedi Knights who may have survived Order 66.

Today came the first report of any Jedi encounter since the ship left Coruscant. Soelin was aware of his predecessors failure aboard the JHI at the hands of Lord Vader and was determined to succeed. Once he received word of a Jedi sighting on Commenor he discreetly sent a sweeper team to try and take them out, obviously they had failed. While he'd lost them for the moment Soelin wasn't about to inform Coruscant about the incident. Not while he had the chance to capture them before his next scheduled report. As he watched the stars turn into starlines Soelin summoned his second officer to his side.

"Major Mepone, assemble the magna-troopers and have them remain on alert."

"Yes Admiral." Mepone replies.

Shortly after receiving his orders, Seolin requested that twenty of his most athletic and agile clones be reassigned into a new squad using electrified bo staffs as weapons against the Jedi. Soelin had read the reports about three Jedi the JHI had tracked from Rhen Var to Dantooine, he realized that without another force sensitive like Lord Vader to take them out it would be difficult to defeat a Jedi. Only sheer numbers would guarantee success against a Jedi, Soelin knew the only reason Order 66 was so effective was because the Jedi never saw it coming. While the tallies from all the clone units showed that over ninety-five percent of all Jedi had been executed, there were always stragglers. A small few always survived and Soelin knew this, which is why he confiscated an electrostaff used by General Grevious' droid bodyguards. He requisitioned them to be reproduced and issued to his new magna-troopers for combat; during the following weeks his magna-troopers were put through a strict diet and rigorous training programs. They were also issued their modified clone armor, reinforced with rubber plated armor to protect them from the electrical output of their new weapons. While he had strength in numbers Soelin wanted something better in case his troops came across a Jedi. Now he was eager to see how his magna-troopers would fare against these two Jedi.


	14. One of the Purest Places

Back in the Tarabba sector Lt. Sogan and his squad are emerging from hyperspace with the convoy of cargo ships behind them. As they come into view of Utapau he opens a comm channel to the entrenched battle sphere now serving as a command center. Using a secret rebel encryption code he calls for landing coordinates from the base. Garan, who had arrived the day before, enters the control room and informs the communications officer to comply with the request.

"Those are our supplies." Garan says.

While a few makeshift rooms had already been constructed the cargo ships will provide the necessities to begin setting up crew quarters, operations rooms and landing bays within the sinkhole passageways. Garan instructs the communications officer to inform Sogan that several temporary repulsor pads have been set up for the N-1 fighters. Realizing Sogan's squadron was on their way Garan made sure the pads were setup as quickly as possible since the N-1's aren't equipped with landing gear. Sogan receives the coordinates and informs the base they are starting their approach.

"N-1's on me." Sogan orders as he instructs the cargo ships that they will land first.

Shortly after the convoy enters the atmosphere two freighters emerge from hyperspace and open the same encrypted channel to Utapau. Garan notices the ships on the radar and orders the communications officer to hail them. The officer does as ordered and receives an encoded identifier in response.

"It's him." the officer states to Garan.

"Give him the coordinates but make sure he knows there is a convoy coming in ahead of him." Garan replies.

Unlike most of the sinkholes on Utapau the one chosen by Captain Balek does not have a reservoir of fresh water at the bottom. This enables the cargo ships to land at the bottom near the sphere. Once the third ship sets down Sogan and his squad begin landing just within the sinkhole walls on the repulsor pads. Garan comes out to greet Sogan as he notices the two freighters making their descent into the sinkhole. The freighters land near the N-1's as the pilots crawl out of their fighters.

"I recognize that freighter." Sogan states watching it land.

"You should, the owner flew with you in an Arc-170 during the Sullust battle." Garan replies.

Sogan thinks for a moment then says, "The Toydarian?" Garan nods as he walks over to the Arawak.

The port side hatch opens as the greenish Toydarian known as Gleim exits the ship. Followed by his copilot Xafus and their droids Ez-6 and R3-X5, the group walks over greeting Major Garan.

"Good to see you Gleim, everyone." Garan says shaking hands with the two pilots as the second freighter lands next to the Arawak. The pilot, a short brown furred Drall walks over next to Gleim.

"Major Garan, this is Pomek, Captain of the Asteroid Blaster." Gleim says.

Garan exchanges greetings with the Drall and welcomes him to the Rebel Alliance.

"You said you have a mission for us, where are we headed?" Gleim asks.

"Agamar." Garan replies. "There is an Imperial Senator there now on a diplomatic mission but she's actually working for us. She has the notion that the Prime Minister there might be sympathetic to our cause. I want you to take three freighters to back each other up. Set down in the suburb of Tondatha and wait for her signal, she might be able to secure some supplies for us. Have you conscripted the rest of your team yet?" Garan asks.

"All but one, well actually he's already agreed but he's waiting for his ship to be repaired. I can comm Tarmy and have her meet us on Agamar. We're bringing it back here right?" Gleim asks.

"Affirmative, do you guys need any fuel before you leave?" Garan replies. Gleim denies stating that he and Pomek fueled up at Ord Mantell before coming out to Utapau. "Alright, if you don't receive her signal within two days head back. Good luck, may the force be with you."

As Gleim and Pomek board their ships for take off Garan begins to feel a little guilty that he let Gleim continue to believe Jori had died. He wondered now that she was alive and well if he should tell him the truth. However he puts the thought out of his mind remembering that Jori planned to exile herself once she found the Solusar boy.

* * *

Having sacked out in one of the two bunks on the Skylux, Jori is jolted awake by a bone jarring shudder. Nearly falling out of the bunk she gets to her feet pulling her boots on as she stumbles to the cockpit.

"What was that?" Jori asks.

"Hyperdrive malfunctioned," Ahsoka states. ". . . our engine must have taken more damage from those fighters than I thought."

As Jori takes the copilot seat she notices the greenish looking planet before them. Suddenly she senses a tingling in the Force but is unable to determine the source.

"You feel that?"

"Nope, I'm a little busy right now." Ahsoka replies stating that the engine is on fire. "We have to set down or its gonna blow!"

"Shut it down, we'll take her in on sublight engines." Jori says. "That's twice in one month that's happened to me."

"Got it, shutting down now. Find me a good place to land on that planet." Ahsoka states.

Jori runs a quick scan of the planet and finds no cities or starports anywhere, massive life readings however. "It must be a primitive species, we've got no choice but to set it down and repair the hyperdrive." Jori replies.

"Strap in and take the stick, this landing isn't gonna be pretty." Ahsoka orders. "We're entering the atmosphere."

Realizing that it's possible they may not survive the landing Jori wonders if she should tell Ahsoka what she knows about Skywalker.

She's about to say something as Ahsoka reaches up to hit a switch on the overheard console when the ship begins shaking fiercely. The shaking takes Ahsoka by surprise as she slams head first into the console!

"Ahsoka!" Jori yells as Ahsoka slumps back in her seat unconscious.

Jori uses the force to tighten Ahsoka's harness then turns her attention to landing the ship as it plows through a group of trees. Jori pulls on the lever extending the landing gear and fires the repulsors as the ship breaks through another group of trees losing the arm gun in the process.

"Blast, you won't be happy about that." Jori says towards Ahsoka.

She groans pulling up hard on the stick as the repulsors finally slow the ship's momentum landing safely near a large pond. Jori slumps back in her seat amazed she was able to keep the ship from crashing. She rests for a few seconds as she throws off her harness to check on Ahsoka.

Finding her forehead already swelling from the blow Jori unbuckles Ahsoka's harness and carriers her into the cabin laying her on the bottom bunk. Jori finds a medkit in the small locker and places an ice pack on Ahsoka's head wrapping some gauze around her head to secure it in place. Once done Jori leans against the bulkhead for a moment.

"Well I guess I better see what I can do about fixing this tub of yours."

She walks into the cargo bay, finds a tool box and opens the rear hatch. As the humid swamp air fills her nostrils she feeling the same tingling through the Force she did moments before. Climbing down into the swamp she douses the engine with a fire retardant just in case there are any secondary sparks or explosions. After a few moments she removes the engine casing and at first site assumes that the hyperdrive isn't even fixable.

"What a mess." She says waving away the smoke as she grabs a hydrospanner.

She sets to work repairing the engine and after two hours she steps back covered in grease, frustrated at her apparent lack of progress. She takes a few deep breathes then tries again, a few minutes later stops hitting the hydrospanner against the hull.

"You had to buy the most worthless, outdated piece of slag didn't you Ahsoka." she says out aloud as she resumes working on the engine.

"Calm you must be."

For a moment Jori just thinks the voice is in her own head until she senses that tingling in the Force again. She stops for a moment, the hydrospanner still in hand, wondering what the Force could be trying to tell her. Then she senses the presence nearby! At first she assumes it is Ahsoka coming out of unconsciousness but then she realizes it is someone else. As the presence draws near Jori realizes she's unable to read them. She drops the hydrospanner as she spins around, calling her lightsaber to her hand igniting it.

"What do you . . .want . . ." Jori says readying herself in a fighting stance. The lightsaber falls from her hand almost in shock seeing the figure emerging from the shadows. "Master Yoda!" She jumps off the deck and runs to kneel before the Jedi Master.

"Glad to see you I am." Yoda says. "Did not expect to have visitors so soon I did."

"What is this place, I've never felt anyplace so pure."

"Yes, powerful with the Force this planet is."

Jori suddenly realizes that the tingling Force sensations she's been feeling came from Yoda.

"It was you I kept feeling!"

"Correct, sensed your arrival I did, although wanted to contact you, masked my presence I had to. Been watching you since learned of your return have I." Yoda explains.

"My return?" Jori says momentarily confused. As she begins to process Yoda's statement she suddenly theorizes that the Force tremor that sent her to Commenor was from Yoda. "It was you, you led me to Ahsoka."

Yoda proceeds to inform Jori that he felt her in agony when she was injured as well as her master's death.

"Watching Ahsoka as well I have been, sent you to her I did so you might bring her here to me." Yoda states.

"Master we didn't choose to come here, the hyperdrive malfunctioned and we almost crashed." Jori replies.

"Works in mysterious ways the Force does, hmm." Yoda replies with a playful smile.

Ever the teacher, Jori simply smiles humbling herself at the wisdom of the aged Jedi Master.

"Surprised I was when felt you and your master on Rhen Var, apologize I must that we assumed you gone. Never truly sensed that you had perished but no way to find you there was; however many things have I learned these past months since coming here."

Jori then begins to tell Yoda about Ranik's son and asks if he can sense the boy as he did her. Yoda closes his eyes and meditates for a few seconds.

"See a force sensitive on Agamar I do, unable to see if this is the son of Solusar."

"Thank you Master, once I find him we will go into exile so I can train the boy." Jori says.

"Ambitious you are, for one who is still ranked a learner herself." Yoda replies.

"I feel it's my duty Master, with Ryaan and Ranik gone there is no one to train him." Jori replies. "And we need every Jedi we can if the Order is to survive."

"Then confer on you the level of Jedi Knight, I do." Yoda says.

"Thank you Master. What about my trials?" Jori says curiously.

"Irrelevant, the trials are now. Survival now is the mandate of all Jedi, if find him you do take the boy as your Padawan you may. Besides, passed enough trials already you have."

Jori bows her head in respect and thanks Yoda again. "Master I'm curious, why Ahsoka? Are you concerned what she might do if she learned that her master fell to the dark side?"

Yoda flashes a surprised look on his face. "Know you do of Darth Vader's true identity?"

"It was a theory at first, Master Ryaan and I met with Senator Organa. He told us about the relationship Anakin had with Senator Amidala, the twins she bore him before death and that Master Kenobi became the caretaker of the boy. During the battle on the Sullust moon we engaged Vader and started noticing a few similarities between him and Skywalker. Then when I was impaled by Vader I think I sensed it in him somehow." Jori replies. "Is it really Skywalker?"

"Darth Vader he is." Yoda states.

"He's so powerful, I don't know how any Jedi can possibly defeat him."

"No normal Jedi will." Yoda says. "Failed we did, Obi-Wan and myself. Tried to stop the Sith but too powerful were they, for even me. The children, only hope they are now of saving Skywalker. If succeed they can, fulfill his own destiny Skywalker will."

"I thought about telling Ahsoka myself but I figured she'd have no reason to believe me. Is that why you sent me to her, so you could tell her?"

"No, amends I must make."

"Well she's out cold right now, she took a nasty blow to the head on our descent." Jori tells him.

"Attend to her I will. Return to fixing the ship you should, stay here long you mustn't." Yoda says.

"Yes Master Yoda."

As Jori returns her attention back to the engine and the hyperdrive Yoda, with the assistance of the Force, hops up to the loading deck and walks inside to find the cabin.

He limps inside supported by his gimmer stick finding the still unconscious form of Ahsoka laying on the bunk. He hops up to the bunk sitting next to her and places his three fingered hand on hers. Before anything else he delves into the Force checking to make sure no severe damage has been sustained from her injury. When satisfied with the results he begins to speak to her unconscious form.

"So here you are Padawan Tano, worried I have been for you, since the day you left the temple. Apologize I must, for the way the council handled the charges against you, which saw to your departure from the Order. Darkness was everywhere, clouding our judgment and darker times yet still lie ahead. Stood by you, we should have but now, feel I do that things happened as they should. The will of the Force it was that sent you from us, saved you it did from the purge." Yoda says rising. He walks along the edge of the bunk hovering just above her head placing his hand gingerly on her forehead as he whispers in her ear.

"Remember this you will not but proud of you I am." He says with a soft whimper. "Although your future uncertain it still is, one thing I do foresee. A force for good you will always be, follow your master's path to the dark side, you will not. Trust in the Force, trust in yourself and a Jedi Knight you will be. Farewell Ahsoka, may the Force be with you."

* * *

A few moments later still having no luck with repairs Jori notices Yoda walking out onto the loading deck.

"She come to yet?"

"No, and know of your visit here she must not." Yoda says looking out into the swamp.

"What? I don't understand." Jori says halting her work.

"Wronged Ahsoka was during her last days in the temple. Felt betrayed by the council she did, but now see I do that it was the will of the Force. Forge her own path from here she must, not ready to know about the fate her master suffered." Yoda explains finally looking up to make eye contact with Jori. "Tell her nothing of Skywalker, myself or Obi-Wan you shall."

"Yes Master."

"Good to see you both it is but never again can you return to Dagobah. Time it is for you to be on your way. If to train the son of Skywalker, remain hidden I must . . . . as must you both."

"Easier said than done Master, I think I got the engine almost put back together but it'll be a while before we can . . . "

She is interrupted as Yoda strikes the end of his gimmer stick on the hull of the ship twice. Suddenly the engines come to life steadily humming.

"How did . . . " Jori stops and looks at Yoda suspiciously.

"Nothing have I done. Worked well you have, hmm?"

Jori smiles suddenly realizing how much she's missed the playfully humble ways of the wizened Jedi Master. And just as suddenly she sadly realizes that this will be the last time she'll ever see him.

Sensing her feelings Yoda graces her with a comforting smile. "See each other again one day we will, may the Force be with you Jori Kai."

Although not quite sure what he meant Jori quickly gathers the tools strung about and loads up for take off.

As Yoda watches the ship ascend and disappear into the night sky he hears the voice of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn through the Force.

" _That girl still has much anger in her, like her master._ " Qui-Gon says referring to Ahsoka. " _If she ever learned the truth she would seek him out and Vader would only try to seduce her_."

"Confront Vader she will not, for now Jori is at her side. Heed my instructions she will." Yoda replies.

" _Exactly my point old friend_." Qui-Gon adds. " _Who will look after her when she leaves Jori's side_."

"Concerned with that I am not, play an a important role I foresee she will, in the fight against the Empire." Yoda says still half in meditation. "A fulcrum she will represent."

Sensing the ship breaking free of Dagobah's atmosphere Yoda turns his attention back to the swamp. "Now, a long walk I have back to my hovel. Join me will you, to continue my training, hmm?"

" _Very well._ " Qui-Gon replies after a short pause. As Yoda begins walking a group of twinkling lights descends from the trees following alongside him.

* * *

As the Skylux leaves the Dagobah system Jori sets a new course for Agamar. Focusing on Yoda's words and instructions she takes one last look at the planet then grabs the hyperdrive lever.

"Let's hope this works." As she pulls the lever starlines appears vaulting them into hyperspace. Jori smiles realizing she still has much to learn about the Force. She puts her feet up and relaxes as the Skylux heads for Agamar.

* * *

 **This was another chapter I really enjoyed writing. I had my ITunes playing Yoda's Theme from ESB and The Death of Yoda from ROTJ soundtracks continuously looped while writing it.**

 **Obviously this chapter's title is quoting Qui-Gon from the Clone Wars Lost Missions episode "Voices". For those of you who are not up to date with Clone Wars or Rebels, shame on you! Lol. Some of the Lost Missions episodes will blow your thermal exhaust port! (Aka your mind)**


	15. The Search for Solusar

Following the weeks since his father's death, Kam Solusar found himself running from planet to planet. He had sold his swoop bike at the Dantooine spaceport before stowing away on a freighter to Xagobah. However the Rodian freighter pilot discovered him and kicked him out before they reached Xagobah. He recently found himself on Agamar, with very little money and no one to go to he began to look for work. He eventually found a job fixing and servicing swoop bikes with a small repair shop. Realizing the kid was basically homeless and didn't have enough money for a place to stay, the shop owner setup a small bunk for the kid in the back room. He told Kam that he stay there but would take a small rent fee out of his pay, Kam took it graciously. Having been taught by his father how to disassemble and reassemble the family swoop bikes Kam was nearly an expert mechanic. He worked the daytime shift for his employer and once his boss went home he would spend his evenings indoors practicing his saber skills and meditating. While he still lacked formal training he remembered everything his father had taught him about the Force, he kept his lightsaber hidden in his backpack while he worked during his shift. However one evening when the shop owner came back to retrieve his comlink he'd forgotten he heard a distinct humming noise from inside the garage. He quietly walked to the garage and saw the young boy deflecting stun blasts from a hand-sized probe. Realizing the kid was a Jedi the shop owner left immediately and found the nearest communications terminal and reported the discovery to the Empire.

* * *

A few hours later Ahsoka begins to come out of unconsciousness, she slowly opens her eyes taking in her surroundings recognizing the small cabin aboard the Skylux. She stands up feeling a bit woozy as the dull ache from the blow earlier fills her head. She sits back down taking the wrapping from her head and examines herself in the mirror. After a few more minutes she begins to feel a bit better and walks into the cockpit.

"There she is!" says Jori noticing Ahsoka up and about.

"Where are we?" Ahsoka says taking the copilot seat.

"Hyperspace en route to Agamar."

"Agamar?" Ahsoka says confused.

Suddenly she begins to recall her last memory before hitting the console. Remembering the hyperdrive malfunctioning that reverted them to realspace, their dangerous descent towards the unknown planet.

"What happened? Did we crash?"

"No, I was able to fire the repulsors in time and stall our descent, although we did lose the arm gun on the way in." Jori explains.

"What about the engine and the hyperdrive?"

"All functioning normally, took me a while but I finally got her working." Jori replies.

Still slightly confused Ahsoka opens up to the Force suddenly picking up on a familiar yet somehow distant sensation. Hearing an echo through the Force she can't make sense of she gives up on trying to figure out what it means.

"You okay?" Jori says noticing the confused expression.

"Yeah, yeah I guess. So what's on Agamar?"

"Kam I think." Jori says.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Ahsoka asks curiously.

"I dunno, I just uh . . . felt something in the Force leading me there." Jori replies strategically.

Still feeling a slight ache in her forehead Ahsoka doesn't press the issue.

"You must be tired, why don't you get some rest before we get to Agamar."

"You sure you feel up to it?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I'll spend some time in a healing trance while we're still in hyperspace." Ahsoka replies then nods towards the ship. "Thanks for putting her back together."

"You're welcome."

* * *

On board the Blood Saber Admiral Soelin is returning to duty on the bridge, he is immediately informed that a message has just been received from someone on Agamar claiming they saw a Jedi.

"Is the report credible?" Soelin asks.

"Unsure Sir, but the informant did say the suspect is his own employee and that he just found out about it." |The communications officer states.

"Is the Jedi aware of his employer's discovery?" Soelin asks.

"No Admiral, the shop owner claims the Jedi never saw him."

Soelin smirks and immediately orders the helmsman to set course for Agamar.

* * *

A few hours later the Skylux sets down on Agamar in the capital city of Calna Muun. As the girls depart heading for the city center to begin searching for Kam Ahsoka cringes at the sight of the shredded wing and its missing gun.

"Maybe we can get it fixed later but right now we have a job to do." Jori stops for a moment trying to find Kam's presence but doesn't sense anything. "Why don't we split up and have a look around." She suggests as she gives a description of Kam to Ahsoka.

"I agree, keep in communication." Ahsoka replies.

* * *

Meanwhile Senator Taneel is wrapping up her visit as she meets with the Prime Minister of Agamar. Having spent two days meeting with dignitaries of the Agamarian Council, Taneel finally gets an audience with the Prime Minister himself. Taneel spends the first hour of their meeting together discussing current events and the rumors of new laws intending to be imposed on all outer rim territories by the Empire. As the meeting progresses Taneel makes several observations leading her to some conclusions about the Prime Minister's feelings towards the Empire.

"I'm surprised Chancellor Palp . . . , excuse me, Emperor Palpatine approved this mission of yours Senator." says the Prime Minister.

Acutely aware of his slight mistake in addressing Palpatine's title Taneel begins to feel the planet's leader might be a candidate to offer support to the Rebellion in the future. Although not quite ready to push the issue Taneel remains true to her cover.

"Well to be honest Sir the Emperor's approval isn't necessary when it comes to missions of peace, especially when the funding doesn't come from the state." Taneel says strategically. "I may be an Imperial Senator now, however that shouldn't speak for my feelings or ideals. I know of several senators who feel the same way and are just as concerned about this regime change as you are Prime Minister."

"Interesting. So Senator, how may I be of assistance to your relief effort?"

* * *

Working under the guise of leading a relief mission through the outer rim for refugees displaced by the Clone Wars the Senator is able to secure a generous donation of medical supplies. After offering her final gratitudes and thanks for the Prime Minister's time during her visit Taneel walks out to the mezzanine in the Council Center summoning Lt. Zaniel Brath. While she didn't like the idea deceiving the Prime Minster regarding the supplies so generously donated by his administration; she knew there was truth in her statement that it was going to a good cause. No cause was greater than the Alliance to restore the Republic.

When Zaniel arrives she orders him to ensure that the shipment of medical supplies is delivered safely to the Toydarian freighter crew appointed to carry the load. Once he leaves she comms her handmaiden back at the hotel and orders her to send the coded signal to the freighter pilots indicating that a shipment is on its way.

After receiving instructions where to find the shipment and coordinates for delivery Zaniel heads for the shipping docks across town. A few minutes later he supervises a couple of loader droids carrying the supplies to a flatbed speeder. Once loaded the droids secure themselves to the flatbed as Zaniel hops in the speeder. He fires it up and inputs the delivery coordinates into the navigation system where the freighters are awaiting.

* * *

In the small town of Tondatha located on the other side of one of the world's many binka forests, Gleim along with two of the freighters under his command are awaiting their cargo to be delivered. After he arrived he dispatched his droids, via public transport, to the marketplace in Calna Muun to pick up a few things for him. As Gleim takes a seat on the loading dock on his ship he notices Pomek and Tarmy walking towards him. Tarmy, a female Er'kit, is Captain of the Touch of Gray which refers to the pale gray skin of her species. The group sits together on the back on Arawak waiting for the medical supplies to be brought to the landing grid.

A few minutes later they see the flatbed speeder approach. Zaniel hops out and introduces himself to the group and orders the droid to load the crates onto the three ships. Once the droids finishes loading and are secure back on the speeder Zaniel says good luck to the freighter pilots and heads back to Calna Muun.

"Ready to take off Gleim?" Pomek asks.

"No, Eazee and Arthree aren't back yet." Gleim replies just as he notices a fleet of Imperial Gunships descending into the city. "You two better get outta here though, wait for me behind the moon." Gleim orders.

"What if we run into trouble with the Imps?" Pomek asks.

"Then head for base but only if you're sure that you aren't followed." Gleim says and his two friends head for their ships.

* * *

Noticing the gunships as well as he leaves the freighters, Zaniel discreetly comms the Senator.

"Yes Lieutenant?" Taneel says from the privacy of her hotel room in the government district.

"I delivered the goods milady and am on my way back but I thought you should know there are Imperial gunships approaching Tondatha. You might want to expedite your departure, they could be headed to Calna Muun as well." Zaniel suggests.

"Very well, I will order my ship to pick me up at the Council Center and we'll leave as soon as you arrive."

* * *

As she notices the Imperial troops being deployed throughout the city Ahsoka comms Jori wondering if they should abort their search.

"How would they know we're here?" Jori says confused.

"The Skylux, we've been on their radar since we left Commenor." Ahsoka replies. "Someone must have spotted it when we landed."

"That or someone spotted Kam." Jori ponders the situation for a moment then states that they will continue their search. "Just stay hidden in the Force and keep looking, unless we see . . ." Intending to mention Vader Jori simply lets off the transmitter for a second. " . . . we're not leaving until we find Kam." Jori says.

"Unless we see what?" Ahsoka asks assuming the transmission was garbled.

"Heavier opposition, just blend in and keep searching."

"Copy that."

As Ahsoka turns off the comm with Jori she spots a group of clones down the street walking into a swoop shop. She inconspicuously walks over to get a better view of their interest and is surprised as she spots a human boy vaulting out of the shop with a blue lightsaber in his hand. The clones rush out after him as he deflects laser blasts back at them taking down four of them. The squad leader comms in for the magna-troopers.

"Magna-troopers?" Ahsoka says to herself curiously.

She immediately tries to comm Jori back to report that she found the boy but finds that the transmission is jammed. While wanting to help the boy she hesitates to reveal herself as another Jedi in such a public area.

As Kam takes out the last of the clones he looks at his employer who has a guilty look upon his face. While he's tempted to cut the man down he restrains himself and flees down a back alley. Ahsoka follows just as Kam is blocked off by six clones wearing an unusual type of armor and carrying electro staffs. The boy ignites his blade and immediately Ahsoka can see these clones will be too much for the boy. She force jumps from her hidden position and cuts down a clone as she lands. Taken by surprise another clone is downed right after that, Ahsoka nears closer to the boy back to back ready to take on the other four.

"Focus, see the attacks before they come!" Ahsoka says blocking one of the electro staffs.

* * *

Sensing the disturbance through the Force Jori runs through the city trying to find Ahsoka, she stops dead in her tracks as she spots a familiar silver and pink plated droid. Jori makes her way around the corner of the next building ahead of the droid then grabs it pulling it into the alley.

"Eazee!"

The droid looks at the woman covered by her tan hood then says in surprise,

"Mistress Jori!" Eazee says thinking her circuits are malfunctioning.

R3 whose carrying a crate full of food and supplies and other miscellaneous items, rolls around the corner behind Ez-6 wondering what happened to her.

"Arthree?" Jori says surprised to see the droid that Ryaan had freed on Tatooine and assumes Gleim kept him after learning of Ryaan's death. "What are you two doing here?"

As R3 spouts off several beeps and whistles Eazee informs her that Gleim joined the Rebel Alliance shortly after her supposed death.

"Yeah that wasn't my idea but you have to go back to Gleim and tell him to get outta here. There are Imperial troops swarming the city!" Jori explains.

Eazee complies stating that they were on their way back to the ship anyway.

"One more thing Eazee, while I'd love to see Gleim again you cannot tell him you saw me."

While Eazee obeys she doesn't understand. Jori explains that she will exile herself as soon as she finds a young boy. "Yes mistress Jori, I'm so glad you're fully functioning again. Good luck." Eazee replies.

"You too Eazee, now get going before you end up stuck here." Jori states.

Reluctantly Jori continues the search for Ahsoka so they can get off the planet before it's too late.


	16. Assault on Agamar

Ahsoka finally takes out the last magna-trooper just as Kam is about to bolt. She grabs his shoulder and tells him she's a Jedi and asks his name.

Kam violently shrugs off her grip on him yelling, "Leave me alone!"

He dashes back into another alley way as another group of magna-troopers keep her from taking pursuit. With her comlink jammed she reaches out with the Force for Jori, without the element of surprise her concentration is now focused on the clones.

Jori receives the call for help via the Force and makes her way towards Ahsoka, as she finds her she's surprised to see the clones using electro staffs. She jumps into the fray and takes one down immediately.

"I think I saw the kid but I was mauled by these magna-troopers before I could follow him." Ahsoka informs her.

"What do you mean you think?" Jori says blocking two incoming electro staffs at once.

"Well I didn't recognize him from the temple and he fit your description but he ran off." Ahsoka replies jumping over a trooper as he moves to strike and slicing him up the backside on her landing.

"Sithspawn!" Jori says as she reaches out with the force trying to find Kam.

"Jori watch out!"

Somewhat distracted Jori fails to spot the incoming strike from behind her. Ahsoka jumps into the air twirling over Jori landing between her and the trooper deflecting the staff. Jori snaps back to attention somersaulting on the ground and Ahsoka's former opponent swings his electro staff at her. She comes up just underneath him impaling the trooper through the midsection. As Ahsoka finishes off her opponent the last one looks like he might try to retreat. Jori hurls her blade as he tries to run but the trooper deflects it, however he doesn't see Ahsoka's green blade coming in directly after it finding it mark in his chest.

The two Jedi call their blades back to their hand as Ahsoka informs her she was originally correct about the Imperial presence.

"I saw some clone troopers storm a swoop shop and seconds later out came Kam. It appeared as though the owner reported him."

Jori reaches out trying to find Kam again as Ahsoka points to the direction he fled.

"There's a good chance one of those clones back there was able to get off a transmission. They may not have known we were here but they could now." Ahsoka says. "Not to mention the Skylux is sitting on the landing grid. If they lock down the spaceport they'll definitely . . ."

"We're not leaving yet Ahsoka." Jori says firmly as she heads down the alley after Kam.

* * *

As Zaniel makes his way through the city center on his way back from Tondatha he spots a group of clones heading into an alley. As he passes the corner he spots two female Jedi fighting off the clones. They take down the clones and head down an adjacent alley, Zaniel follows slowly overhead as he comms the Senator informing her of the discovery.

* * *

The girls exit the alleyway onto another street and run into another clone patrol. With their lightsaber hilts still in hand the clones realize right away that the two are Jedi.

"Jam their comlinks!" Jori orders as she runs straight into the patrol.

Before Jori gets there Ahsoka reaches out with the Force crushing the comlink on each of the clones wrists guards. A few seconds later Jori has neutralized all but three of the patrol. Ahsoka ignites her blade deflecting a blast from one of the clones sending it back to its source as Jori eliminates the other two.

Jori looks down the street in either direction trying desperately to reach Kam.

" _Kam it's me Jori, I'm here to help._ " Jori sends through the Force.

Figuring the boy has yet to learn how to communicate through the Force aside from possibly a known presence like that of his father, Jori assumes he'll never hear her.

Suddenly Jori feels Ahsoka guiding her out of the middle of the street.

"There's another patrol a few blocks down the street." Ahsoka informs. "This is getting dangerous, do you have any idea where that kid is?"

Sadly Jori is forced to shake her head. Noticing the downcast glance on her friend Ahsoka informs her it is time to leave. They don their hoods and head back towards the spaceport. When they get to the landing bay they spot the Skylux has been swarmed with clones.

"We'll never get to it now!" Jori states.

* * *

Having followed them back towards the spaceport Zaniel lands the speeder and catches up with the Jedi on foot as he realizes they've just lost their ride off the planet. He updates the Senator of the situation and she orders him to discreetly escort them to her ship. "I understand Senator, we'll be there shortly."

* * *

Just as Jori and Ahsoka are about to decide if they should try taking the Skylux by force they feel a presence behind them. Jori is about to activate her blade when she realizes it is not a clone.

"Do you ladies need a ride? I'm Lt. Zaniel Brath, escort to Senator Taneel of Chandrila. Zaniel informs.

Sensing no deception from him through the Force Jori decides to take his offer. "Yes, our ship is crawling with Imperial troops." Jori replies.

"Come with me, quickly." Zaniel says.

Ahsoka takes one last look at the Skylux realizing she'll likely never see it again. Sensing Ahsoka's hesitance Jori places a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Ahsoka but you have to leave it behind."

"So much fixing the arm gun."

"C'mon." Jori says.

They follow Lt. Brath to a flatbed speeder and hop in the single bench seat alongside him.

"Where are we going?" Jori asks.

"The Senator has a ship waiting in the Council Center, she'll get you out of the system."

Zaniel drops the speeder truck back at the shipping docks then leads the Jedi to the Council Center. When they arrive at the front steps of the Council Center they find a detachment of clones standing guard outside.

With her lightsabers attached to her hips Ahsoka pulls her cloak tighter as they approach the clones.

"Halt, identify yourselves." says a clone trooper as they try to pass.

"I'm escort to Imperial Senator Taneel here on a diplomatic mission." Zaniel says showing them his pass for the Council Center.

For a moment both Jori and Ahsoka wonder if they've been had after hearing the Lieutenant state that he's reporting to _Imperial_ Senator Taneel. However after still sensing no deception from Brath they remain calm.

"You're cleared to enter but these two aren't." retorts the clone.

Jori is about to attempt a mind trick on the clones but before she can the Lieutenant takes her by the arm pulling her into his embrace.

"That's because they didn't arrive with us. The Senator graciously allowed me to bring my betrothed back to Coruscant with us." Zaniel says. "And that's her handmaiden, they have to ride in the Senator's ship because obviously they won't fit in my fighter."

The lead clone looks at one of his brothers wondering if the situation is legit.

"Look we've got to get up there, the Senator is waiting for us. If you don't let us through she'll be late to her next appointment. I'm sure you don't want an angry Imperial Senator on your backs, you might get redeployed to Tatooine or some awful place." Zaniel says trying to sell the ruse.

"A Senator has no authority within the Imperial military." The clone says not buying it.

"Maybe not but they have friends." Zaniel replies.

Finally the clone becomes tired of dealing with the pilot, not wanting to risk the chance that he might be right he lets them pass.

"Go on and take your betrothed with you."

"Thanks, glory to the Empire!" Zaniel says taking Jori's hand leading them through.

"That was close." Jori says once out of earshot.

"No kidding, I was expecting you to use one of your Jedi mind tricks on them." Zaniel replies.

"I was about to when you pulled that betrothed nonsense."

"It got us through didn't it."

"I suppose, may I have my hand back now?" Jori says.

"Oh right, sorry." Zaniel says having forgotten he was still holding her hand. As he leads them to a turbo lift Zaniel opens a channel on his comlink. "R9 I need you to bring the fighter the Council Center right away and land next to the Senator's ship."

* * *

Resting on a private landing pad attached to the Council Center, Taneel is already aboard her shuttle when Zaniel arrives with the two Jedi. "Welcome Master Jedi, please get on board we'll depart right away." Taneel says.

"Thank you so much, for a second I thought we were in trouble." Jori says. "I take it you're with the Rebellion?"

"Are we so transparent?" Taneel asks a little surprised.

"Not necessarily it's just not many people would be caught dead helping a Jedi these days. What really confirmed it for me was that I already knew Senator Mothma of Chandrila is one of the leaders of the Rebellion." Jori explains.

"I wasn't aware, Senator Mothma didn't tell me she knew of any surviving Jedi."

"I don't think she does, I learned of her part from Senator Organa." Jori replies.

"I see." Taneel replies. "Well may I have the privilege of your names?"

Ahsoka is about to introduce herself when Jori holds up a hand. "With respect Senator, for your sake it might be better if we remain nameless."

"Very well." Taneel says as she comms the pilot. "You may take off when ready Lieutenant."

With Tosch and Wurth already airborne Zaniel spots his T-55 approaching as the shuttle lifts off. R9 sets the ship on the landing pad with the cockpit already open and awaiting its pilot.

"Let's go R9." Zaniel says as he jumps in and puts his helmet on.

As the ship ascends over the coast Jori looks out the viewport disappointed they were so close to rescuing Kam.

"I'm sorry I let him get away Jori." Ahsoka says. "I'm not even positive if it was Kam but he fit the description."

"It's not your fault, I'm just worried about him. He's alone and scared and he has no one to turn to except us."

"Maybe we can come back here once the Imps leave the system." Ahsoka suggests.

Taneel steps in stating there is no telling how long that will be. "If they spotted you they will likely leave a garrison here."

"With the Empire in-system he's likely to run again." Jori says. "We failed."

* * *

As the clones begin to lock down the landing grid to search for the Jedi, Ez-6 and R3 are finally making their way back to the Arawak. Gleim stands on the port side hatch and spots them, he informs Xafus to be ready to lift off once they're on board.

"Where have you been, the Imps are about to shut this place down!' Gleim yells as the droids get on board. "Hit it Xafus!" Xafus hits the repulsors and lifts off the deck.

"I'm so sorry Gleim we ran into . . . ." R3 explodes with a series of beeps and tones to stop Eazee from revealing the fact that they saw Jori.

"I don't care if we have to blast through an Imperial blockade, we're getting out of here." Gleim says taking his seat at the helm. "What were you saying Eazee?"

Looking back down at R3 as she stows the supplies Eazee simply states that they ran into a disturbance. "There was a lot of commotion from the citizens, I suppose they were shocked by the Imperial troops storming the city." Eazee replies.

Surprised by the subtlety of his beloved droid's response Gleim wonders that it may be time for Eazee to visit a maintenance center.

* * *

Meanwhile Senator Taneel's ship and its escort are preparing to make the jump into hyperspace. "My next stop is Bespin but I can take you anywhere you need to go Master Jedi." Taneel says.

Jori looks at Ahsoka suggesting they go back to Commenor to get her scout ship.

"Pilot set course for Commenor and make it fast before that Imperial cruiser scans our ship!" Taneel says noticing the Star Destroyer orbiting the planet.

* * *

As soon the Blood Saber arrived over Agamar Admiral Soelin ordered a complete scan of all ships docked in the spaceport. With the escape of the two female Jedi from Commenor and the recent sighting of a young Jedi at the swoop shop Soelin had no reason to assume that the three Jedi were working together. Since the formation of the Empire several stragglers had been pursued and killed, some in groups of all sizes but few were found alone thus far. Almost immediately he was informed that the Corellian outrigger freighter was found registered at the spaceport. With several ships already trying to flee the planet to escape Imperial control Soelin orders his crew to begin locking down the spaceport. He then orders his troops on the ground to keep a lookout for the two female Jedi. One of which they knew to be a human; the other suspected to be humanoid given the description from Commenor of the heightened shape of the cloaked head. Suddenly Soelin spots a ship on the spaceport registry data that seems familiar to him, he orders a scan on it and finds it contains a Toydarian, a Gran and two droids.

"Lock a tractor beam onto it!" The ship rendezvous with two other freighters that appear to have been awaiting it, the trio of ships jumps into hyperspace before the tractor beam can lock onto it.

"Blast!" Soelin says angrily.

"I'm sorry Admiral." the crewman working the tractor beam states.

Soelin draws his blaster from the holster on his hip and puts a bolt through the crewman's head. While most Imperial officers do not wear sidearms Soelin keeps one on him for just such an occasion.

"Clean up that mess." He says to another member of his crew. He walks down the bridge platform to a computer terminal and uses the scan of the freighter to search recent Imperial reports for information on the ship. He comes up with a report entered by the late Admiral Prusta stating that Lord Vader captured the ship piloted by and Iridonian Zabrak. While the report indicates that the ship did not belong to the Zabrak it also mentions that it was spotted during a skirmish on Dantooine between the Imperial Garrison posted there and what was assumed to be a small rebel force. The report also lists the name of the ship as the Arawak. "I knew I thought I recognized that name, it's a rebel freighter." He orders the helmsman to plot its trajectory and lay in a pursuit course. As he does he receives a report from the planet that the magna-troopers engaged three Jedi but all have seemed to eluded the clones. "Can we confirm if the two spotted on Commenor were among them?" Soelin asks.

"The human female is yes sir, the other female we haven't been able to identify their species yet." an officer says.

"I assume the third you refer to is the young boy that we received the report on?"

"Yes Admiral." the officer replies.

Soelin turns to his executive officer. "Dispatch a garrison to remain on the planet, they will continue to search for the Jedi. Once they have deployed initiate the pursuit on the Arawak." Soelin leaves his executive officer in place on the bridge as he returns to his quarters. Once there he reluctantly opens a comm channel to Coruscant. The image of Darth Vader appears and Soelin informs him of the recent events. "We received a report of a Jedi sighting on Agamar, when our troopers deployed they discovered two others, both females. We've lost track of all three but I am dispatching a garrison twice the normal size to the planet to continue the search." Soelin tries to sugar coat his failure by informing Vader that he's spotted a known rebel freighter that was involved in the skirmish on Dantooine.

"The Jedi are of more importance than a solitary rebel ship." Vader replies. Soelin then informs him it's the same ship that the Jedi Hunter I captured while he was aboard it.

"The report suggests that the owner is a friend of Jedi Ryaan Taj that you killed on the Sullust moon. He may have connections with these Jedi as well. It seems too coincidental to not be worth investigating, it might even lead us to a rebel stronghold." Soelin adds.

Vader ponders the idea for a moment. "Proceed as you see fit Admiral."

Yes my lord." Soelin says as the image disappears. He sighs heavily relieved that Vader didn't snap his neck right then. He'd heard rumors of his capabilities with the Force and he didn't want to test them. Soelin is about to visit his private fresher when he is commed by he executive officer, Major Mepone. Mepone informs him of all the ships scanned leaving the planet one showed registered with Chandrilan markings.

"It was escorted by three fighter craft all of different design and origin, only the transport vessel had identifying markings." States Mepone.

While Soelin doesn't quite see that information as questionable he orders the Mepone to dispatch a squad of Arc-170's to follow and report back with their findings.

* * *

When the Senatorial convoy comes out of hyperspace over Commenor Ahsoka suggests the pilot does a thorough scan of the area for Imperial ships.

"Looks clear." the pilot says.

"Take us in." Jori says giving him the docking bay number where she left her scout ship.

The shuttle lands in the bay adjacent to the scout ship as Senator Taneel asks where they plan to go.

"Well you mentioned it earlier," Jori says looking at Ahsoka. ". . .I guess Naboo. I'm sure we can hide there as long as we need. Master Kenobi was well known by both the Naboo and the Gungans, I'm sure they won't mind."

"I know how vital it is that you both survive but we need the Jedi, I hope it's not too much to ask if we could call on you if it was absolutely necessary?" Taneel asks.

"We serve the Republic, while that may no longer exist we will serve any cause that is loyal to reviving it." Jori states.

"We'll be there if you need us." Ahsoka adds.

"Thank you and may the Force be with you." Taneel says as the shuttle hatch closes for take off.

The girls quickly make their way to the next dock where the scout ship remains untouched. Jori hops in the pilot seat and boosts the engines.

"Nice ship." Ahsoka states.

"Well it's no Skylux but it serves its purpose." Jori adds as they take off right after the shuttle. She spots the T-55 Sabre come about next to them and notice that Lt. Brath is in the cockpit. "Thanks for helping us Lieutenant."

"My pleasure ladies, perhaps one day I will be of service to you again." Zaniel says.

"Take it easy flyboy!" Ahsoka adds. Jori follows the convoy into space then sets coordinates for a jump to Naboo. "You're still thinking about Kam aren't you."

"We were so close, I just hope the clones don't find him." Jori adds as she pulls the lever initiating the hyperdrive.

"The Force will be with him Jori, have faith in that." Ahsoka adds.

* * *

Having returned to the Hunter's Arrow a few hours ago for some sleep, Loa's droid alerts him when he sees two females approach the scout ship. Loa wakes up and looks at the screen showing the spy probe's viewer. "Looks like she found a friend . . . ." Loa says zooming the probe viewer lens to the Togrutan. ". . . .she's a Jedi too." He says noticing the lightsaber on the Togrutan's belt. "Be ready to plot their trajectory Killer." Loa says warming up the engines. Shortly after the scout ship jumps into hyperspace the droid informs him that they appear to be heading for Naboo. "Is the pursuit course laid in?" The droid beeps affirmatively in response and Loa initiates his hyperdrive.


	17. Busted by Blood

Somewhere near Bakura, Senator Taneel and her escort come out of hyperspace to make a course correction. Cautious that the Empire could possibly plot their trajectory Lt. Judson suggests they stop just inside the unknown regions and re-plot an alternate course zigzagging their way to Bespin. As the navicomputer lays in the new course Zaniel, who is currently aft of the shuttle, is alerted by R9 of a dozen blips on his radar that just came out of hyperspace. Zaniel checks the radar and orders R9 to identify them, the droid replies informing him they are Arc-170's.

"Ah bantha fodder, looks like your hunch was right Tosch. We've got a dozen 170's on our tails! We must have been spotted leaving Commenor."

"I thought the 170's didn't have hyperdrives." Wurth states.

"They're short range hyperdrives." Zaniel immediately orders the shuttle pilot to lay in that course and jump. "I'll hold them off as long as I can."

"You can't take on all those fighters by yourself!" Tosch states. Zaniel informs his wing-mates that he doesn't intend to and that he just plans to give the Senator enough time to escape and the re-plot another jump to throw them off the trail.

"We'll stay with you." Wurth adds.

"No, go with the Senator she must be seen safely to Bespin. I'll join you there when I can, now go!" Zaniel orders as he activates his shields and preps his weapons.

"Good luck Zaniel." Tosch says as they follow the shuttle back into hyperspace.

"Lock on missiles R9." Zaniel says as two of the 170's are designated. Zaniel fires the missile, the lead 170 banks away as the missile strikes the fighter behind it. The second missile hits its intended target, the fighter tries to bank off as well but the missile takes off the port wing and the fighter explodes. As the distance closes between him and the remaining fighters Zaniel pulls the trigger on the repeater cannons. He takes out a third fighter just before he passes head to head with the remaining 170's; realizing his best advantage is gone he boosts up the primary engines and finds the nearest planet. While he doesn't recognize which planet it is he makes his way there as fast as possible as the 170's take pursuit. "Throw all power to the rear deflector shields R9, revert back to forward if I get a bandit in my sights though. Those 170's have rear gunners on them." R9 whistles in response and does as requested.

As he nears closer to the planet the 170's continue their fire on the Sabre, Zaniel orders R9 to plot a multi-jump course to Bespin. "Let me know when your ready, Tosch and the others should've already made their second jump by now." Zaniel says banking and barrel rolling away from the incoming blaster fire.

* * *

Meanwhile on the planet below the squad leader of the new T-55 Sabres is about to return to his barracks after a series test flights. Just moments after he crawls out of the fighter the squad leader is informed by the control tower that there are ten fighter size readings on the radar. The control orders the squad leader to take what pilots he has to check it out. The squad leader grabs the other two pilots that he was running the drills with and orders them back to their fighters.

"Sabre four, Sabre six on me." The squad leader says over the comlink.

The trio of fighters fly into space still within Ryndori's territory as they spot nine Imperial Arc-170's chasing another fighter. At first the Ryndorian pilots don't recognize the fighter due to the black and blue paint scheme as well as the speed that its traveling. Sabre leader reports back to the control tower that a group of Imp 170's are chasing after a lone fighter.

"Let it be, it's probably some smuggler or something." the control tower replies.

Then as the fighter draws closer Sabre leader gets his first good look at the shape of the fighter.

"Uh control, I think we'll want to get involved, the ship that's being chased is a T-55 Sabre!"

"That's impossible." The control tower replies. At hearing the Squad leader's report come over the comlink Commander Cin Kesaro walks over and interjects.

"Lt. are you sure its a T-55?" Kesaro asks.

"Yes Sir, exactly. The only difference is this one is painted black and blue." Sabre leader replies.

At hearing that Kesaro realizes where the ship came from. "That sounds like our prototype!" Kesaro says shocked. "Lt. as much as I would like to avoid getting involved with the Empire I am ordering you to attack those 170's. Take them out and escort that rogue T-55 down here so we can find out just how in the galaxy he acquired that ship! Make sure to jam their transmissions before you attack." Kesaro orders.

"Yes Commander." Sabre leader replies.

* * *

As he makes another loop over the fighters Zaniel tries to get around the back end of the formation and take out the rear 170. Unfortunately this proves useless, suddenly he notices three more blips on his radar moving towards him.

"Reinforcements huh?" He dodges another wave of blaster fire as two of the fighters on his tail are blown to bits. Surprised he looks around the cockpit viewport and spots the three T-55's coming to his aid. "Oh poodoo." Zaniel says realizing his help is the anonymous party that purchased the new fighters from Incom and that he also just got caught!

As another 170 moves in to fire on him Zaniel receives a hail from the other T-55's.

"Bank to the right!" one of the pilots says.

Zaniel does as instructed as another 170 is destroyed. Zaniel takes the opportunity and tries the loop again and this time comes about behind another Arc.

"Forward shields R9!" he says as he begins taking fire from the rear gunner.

Zaniel quickly locks on another missile and fires destroying it. A few minutes later all but two of the 170's remain, since unable to call for help the 170 pilots try to bug out.

"They're gonna make a jump!" Sabre leader says as he locks a missile and fires.

The Arc rolls away dodging the projectile. Zaniel boosts up the sublights and locks a missile as well this time destroying it. With his missiles gone Zaniel pushes the throttle to full and holds down the fire button. The last Arc is pelted with blaster fire as Zaniel banks away to avoid the explosion. As he brings the throttle down Zaniel notices three missile locks on him.

"Don't try to escape, we're taking you in. We have some questions for you." Sabre leader says.

"Yeah I figured you might, you can remove your lock I won't run." Zaniel says. "What's your name pilot?"

The response Zaniel receives is muffled as he wonders how the pilot knew his name.

"How did you . . . .what was your name again?" He says confused.

Suddenly the comm channel clears up as he hears the pilot loud and clear.

"I said I'm Lt. Zaphael Brath of the Ryndorian Air Corps." Sabre leader replies. "Follow us in."

Still shocked by the pilot's name Zaniel complies wondering if its just a random coincidence that the pilot's name is so similar to his own.

Zaniel follows the fighters down to the landing grid where more of the red trimmed T-55's are resting. Given his cooperation Sabre leader doesn't call for security personnel when they land. Sabre leader and his wing-mates exit their ships and remove their open face helmets. Zaniel who had a flight helmet custom made covers his entire face which also can serve for EV walks in space. Zaniel exits his ship still dumbfounded that this pilot's name is so similar to his own. As he spots the pilot walking towards him with his helmet off he stops dead in his tracks. He looks at the man's face in astonishment noticing that while the man is obviously a little younger than him, he is the spitting image of himself.

"What's your name?" Zaphael asks.

Zaniel simply removes his helmet revealing the face they share. "Lt. Zaniel Brath, escort to Imp . . . Galactic Senator Taneel." Zaniel says unsure how they would have responded if he'd said Imperial Senator.

Astonished as well Zaphael drops his helmet from his arms. "What in the name of . . . ." He says nearing closer.

Before either can ask further questions Zaphael's comlink goes off. He answers it finding it's Commander Kesaro wondering why they haven't reported in with the pilot yet.

"There's been an interesting discovery Commander but we are on our way." The comlink goes off and Zaphael states they'll straighten the situation out later.

"Fair enough." Zaniel says still perplexed.

They escort him into the base where Commander Kesaro is waiting for them. Kesaro notices Zaniel first but the black and blue flight suit doesn't register in his mind, Zaphael thens steps from behind Zaniel and stands at attention.

Kesaro returns the salute then says, "I see what you mean by an interesting discovery."

"It's not just that he looks like me Sir, he has the same last name as me." Zaphael states.

Pointing at Zaphael, Kesaro asks Zaniel if he knows this man.

"No Sir, but I definitely have some questions for him. As I'm sure you do for me." Zaniel replies.

"Indeed, lets start with how you acquired that ship?" Kesaro demands. "I contracted Incom in secret to design and build those fighters for our planet's defenses. You stole our prototype didn't you?"

"Whoa your way off base, I purchased it fair and square." Zaniel replies as he informs them that the salesman read the contract reports on the order and found no mention of what is to be done about the prototype. "Maybe you should've been more thorough in your deal with them. Nevertheless I purchased it and it belongs to me." Zaniel says exaggerating slightly.

While Kesaro doesn't like it he rests his case and decides he will take it up with Incom intent on having the salesman fired.

"Why were those Imperial fighters after you?"

Zaniel informs them of his mission as escort of to Galactic Senator, he's hesitant to release certain information about the senator but seeing as they just saved his hide from those Imp fighters he assumes these people are not loyal to the Empire.

"I take it your planet has no ties, no loyalties to the Empire right? I mean given that you destroyed several of their ships."

"We only got involved because Lt. Brath," Realizing he needs to specify Kesaro points to Zaphael. "Our squad leader spotted your ship. However you're correct, Ryndori is not part of the Empire, it wasn't even part of the Republic."

"That's why you bought all these fighters? You're just as concerned as we are about the regime change." Zaniel replies feeling confident he can inform them they he's with the Rebel Alliance.

Hesitant to say more Kesaro remains silent as Zaniel informs him of his true mission.

"We recently helped a pair of Jedi Knights off Agamar as the Imps were taking control of the city. Obviously they followed us, I sent the senator along with my wing-mates to their next destination while I held them off." Zaniel explains. "You obviously don't like the Empire anymore than we do, or did you just save my hide to find out about the ship?" Zaniel asks.

Kesaro explains that is the very reason they had the ships built for defense again the Empire if they ever tried to take their planet.

"Well look I'm sorry if Incom wasn't allowed to sell me the ship but I don't plan on giving it back. I can assure you though I won't tell anyone what your doing here. Just curious though how many of these did you purchase?"

Zaniel's eyes go wide when Kesaro they ordered five hundred units.

"That's some defense! More than enough fighters to fully stock two Venator Cruisers."

Kesaro ponders the situation for a moment and realizing that this pilot has the same views as Ryndori he decides to let him go. "Against my better judgement I'm letting you go Lt. Brath." Kesaro says confident they know which one he is addressing.

"If you don't mind Sir I have some questions for him." Zaphael states.

"I'm sure you both do, dismissed." Kesaro replies.

Zaphael leads Zaniel to his quarters where they can talk.

"This is uncanny, too much so that I don't think its coincidence." Zaphael states and he removes his flight suit. "Where did you grow up?"

Zaniel tells him he lived with his father Kisher Brath on Chandrila. Zaphael hesitates for a moment realizing the truth of the situation.

"I never met him but that was my father's name. I've lived here on Ryndori all my life with my mother Fiora Brath." Zaphael says.

"My mother, so wait we're brothers? I don't believe this." Zaniel replies.

"I don't either, come with me."

Zaphael leads him to the medical bay and asks one of the droid doctors to run a DNA test on them. Realizing it's the best way to know for certain if he and Zaphael are indeed related Zaniel complies.

The droid takes a blood sample from each and the two pilots sit in a small waiting area swapping stories and talking about their passion for flying as they wait for the results.

"So how long have you been a pilot?" Asks Zaniel.

"I joined the Ryndorian Air Corps when I was eighteen, you?" Zaphael says.

"My fath . . . our father I guess, was a pilot in the Chandrilan Security Force. He taught me to fly our air speeder at age ten, from that day on I was hooked." Zaniel states.

"Wow you've had a lot of experience then, so is our father still living on Chandrila?"

"He was but he passed away last year."

"I'm sorry, I wish I could have met him." Zaphael says.

A few moments later the droid returns showing them on a holo that their blood is an exact match.

"Congratulations, you are indeed siblings!" the droid says.

The two just look at each other astonished at the truth of the situation. As they walk back to Zaphael's quarters the two exchanges birthdates and as assumed Zaniel is the older by two years. What neither of them can determine is why they never knew about each other. By both their accounts each of their respective parents told them the names of the missing parent from each of their lives. However neither grew up knowing they had a brother.

"They must have divorced, I don't have any memories about mother but it must have happened around the time that she was pregnant with you." Zaniel theorizes. "Why didn't they ever tell us about each other?"

"I guess we could ask her." Zaphael says.

"She's here on this planet?" Zaniel says with his eyes wide open.

Zaphael nods.

While he's intrigued by the chance to meet his mother Zaniel realizes he has a job to do first.

"I'd love to meet her but I must regroup with my wing-mates and make sure the senator made it to her destination safely. Speaking of which do you think your government would be interested in joining the Rebellion?"

Zaphael ponders the idea but suggests his brother pose that question to Commander Kesaro and possibly even the Prime Minister.

Zaphael finds Kesaro and informs him the pilot and he are indeed brothers, he also poses Zaniel's question of alliance to him. Kesaro states that they wish to remain neutral but will defend themselves if necessary. Zaniel steps in and suggests that if all peaceful planets wish to remain neutral it will be that much easier for the Empire to take over the galaxy.

"The more star systems that are willing to stand up and fight should band together to fight the Empire. With enough support its possible we may not even have to fight, it could be won in the Senate." Zaniel explains. In the end Zaniel requests that he at least be allowed to bring his senator here to speak with the Prime Minister. "She can convey our intentions better than I, at least talk with her."

Kesaro agrees and requests an immediate audience with the planet's leader. The brothers are brought in and introduced, Kesaro also informs him of the recent events concerning Zaniel's ship then presents his proposition to the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister considers the proposal then grants Zaniel a meeting with his senator, then motions to have Zaniel wait outside.

"Lt. Zaphael Brath, you will accompany your newfound brother as he escorts the senator here. I have no doubt this man is your blood but we have no idea where his true intentions lie. If you suspect foul play report back to us immediately."

"Understood Sir." Zaphael says as exits finding Zaniel in the foyer. "Looks like I'm going with you."

"Great, that'll give us a chance to talk some more. Can we leave right away?" Zaphael replies affirmatively and advises him to meet him by the ships.

"I've gotta put on a flight suit, be right there."

A few minutes later the two T-55's of opposite color take off and enter Ryndorian space. "So where are we headed?" Zaphael asks.

"Bespin, my droid is sending you the coordinates now." Moments later the two jump into hyperspace.


	18. Exile at Last

Just over Utapau the Arawak comes out of lightspeed followed by the Asteroid Blaster and Touch of Gray. Gleim sends the encoded identifier to the control sphere and waits for permission to land. After receiving the word Gleim brings the Arawak in with his wing-mates on his tail. As he descends the sinkhole he notices the progress that has been made setting up hangar bays within the passageways. He's given a landing grid number as he nears closer and sets the ship down gingerly. Pomek and Tarmy receive similar grid designations and land shortly afterwards. Captain Balek walks over with Kaeon and several droids ready to unload the shipment.

"Take the supplies to the med center." Kaeon orders.

"Roger, roger." the droids reply.

Balek walks over asking Gleim if there were any problems. "We heard reports of a garrison being deployed on Agamar, our senator got out but she wasn't sure about you."

Gleim informs them they had no troubles as Balek hands him their funds for fuel and repairs.

"Where's the next mission to?" Gleim asks splitting the funds with Pomek and Tarmy.

"Major Garan is working out the details now however its not a shipment, we're planning an attack." Balek replies.

"Really?" Gleim says somewhat surprised given the recent events on Sullust and Dantooine. Balek explains that they are looking at a hit and run mission to an Imperial controlled shipyard.

"If the details all work out we'll blast in steal what ships and weapons we can and disable the rest." Balek informs. "You guys interested, we need all the pilots we can get for this mission."

Gleim volunteers himself and Xafus right away, then looks to Tarmy and Pomek who also agree.

"Good get in contact with your other two pilots and find out if they wanna get in the fight. Otherwise just sit tight until we let you know what's going on." Balek adds.

"Understood Captain." Gleim says turning to Xafus. "Let's find out how Mishi is doing with her repairs and then comm Cyprus and find out what his location is. Once we get our orders we'll have them meet us at a neutral site."

"Will do." Replies Xafus as he runs back to the Arawak.

* * *

Balek makes his way back to the control sphere and informs Garan that the medical supplies have arrived.

"Good, were Gleim and his team interested in the upcoming attack?" Garan asks.

Balek informs him they are but the rest of his team have yet to check in. "Have you picked a target yet?" Balek asks.

Garan informs him he wanted to hit Incom but since they're still independent from the Empire he decided against it.

"That may not last long with the Emperor trying to nationalize the industry." Balek says.

"Good point but for now we'll leave them be. I'm thinking about Sluis Van, the Empire has already taken control of it. Aside from the designers and production staff located on the planet below the shipyard itself is completely run by Imperials." Garan explains. "While it's not a Star Destroyer based facility there are several armed shuttles and corvettes that we can get our hands on. Maybe even a frigate or two."

"Good because we don't have enough crew yet to man a Star Destroyer. Our pilots will need to sneak in undetected if we are to get as many as possible, you have an idea how to accomplish that?" Balek asks.

Garan informs him that Lt. Nkard had an idea for that. "We'll need to steal an Imperial shuttle and confiscate some uniforms, our guys will go in and when clear move our pilots from the shuttle to whatever ships we can get." Garan replies.

Balek brings up a good point regarding the pilots selected to go undercover. He explains it is a known fact that the Emperor dislikes aliens and that any rebel to be disguised as an Imperial must be human.

"Good point, Gleim and the others will have to stay hidden in the shuttle until they're clear to move." Garan states. "So that gives us Sogan and his men, you, Kaeon and the others."

"That's only gonna give us about eight or nine, I think one of Gleim's friends is human but we'll still need a few more if this is to be successful." Balek replies.

Garan then remembers Senator Taneel had picked three human pilots to escort her while she's searching for potential allies.

"Doesn't she need those pilots?" Balek says confused.

Garan explains that thus far she's spent two to three days on each planet meeting with other senators and dignitaries.

"She has her handmaidens and bodyguards with her as well, plus her shuttle crew. We wouldn't ask for them but we could see if we can borrow the escort pilots for the mission. Get in touch with the Senator for me and we'll find out what her itinerary looks like for the next few days." Garan orders.

"Yes Sir." Balek replies.

* * *

Somewhere near the unknown regions of the galaxy along the Corellian Trade Spine, Senator Taneel is about to retire for the evening after her first day of meetings with the administrator of Bespin's Cloud City. Her mission on Bespin was to negotiate the administrators support to the Rebel cause, specifically by establishing a constant supply of Tibanna gas to be used for heating fuel in rebel bases or to power weapons and explosives. Lieutenants Judson and Crake saw her safely there but she'd yet to get word from Lt Brath, fearing the worst she decides by morning she'll report the loss to Mon Mothma. She's about to walk into her stateroom when one of her bodyguards informs her of an incoming message from Major Garan executive officer. She takes the holoprojector from him as Garan's image appears after a moment.

"What can I do for you Major?"

"Senator I understand you have three human pilots at your disposal serving as your escort." Garan states.

Taneel acknowledges the claim but informs her of their escape from a squad of Imperial fighters and that her best pilot stayed behind to throw them off their trail.

"We've not heard word from him since then, I fear he was killed during the attack. Why may I ask are you inquiring about them?"

Garan informs her of an mission he and his men are planning against the Empire and their need of human pilots to pose as Imperial officers.

"If your schedule has you staying on Bespin for a few days I'd like to request your escort pilots for the mission. With your bodyguards already stationed there you'll be more than protected." Garan states.

Taneel thinks about it for a moment then agrees.

"I will have Lieutenants Judson and Crake meet you wherever you would like." She is about to receive encrypted coordinates from Garan when both Crake and Judson come running down the hallway towards her stateroom.

"Milady, we're sorry for the intrusion but we have good news, Zaniel made it!" Judson says in excitement.

"Just a moment Major, I believe my third pilot may have survived after all!" Taneel states asking him to wait a moment for confirmation.

Tosch immediately informs the senator that Zaniel is accompanied by another T-55 Sabre. Garan who is still live on the holo hears the claim and asks if the other pilot is human as well.

"I'm not sure what's going on Major I will find out and let you know, go ahead and send me those coordinates." Taneel states.

Taneel is escorted by her bodyguards to the landing platform along with Judson and Crake. They walk up to the identical fighters as Zaniel hops out along with R9. He walks over and informs the senator that all the 170's were destroyed and their communications were jammed before they could report their position.

"Excellent job Lt. Brath, we were getting worried about you. And who is your friend with the identical ship?" Taneel says curiously.

Zaniel introduces his brother Zaphael and explains it's a long story but that he and a few other pilots under his command where the ones who saved him.

"Curious, well Lieutenants you have a new mission, let's go inside and I'll explain it to you. Lt. Brath . . . uh Zaphael," Taneel corrects herself remembering they're both the same rank. ". . . you're welcome to join us."

Once inside the adjoining living area to her stateroom Taneel has her handmaiden serve some refreshments for Zaniel and the others. Before she can brief them on their new mission Zaniel informs him that his brother's home planet is acquiring new fighters like his to defend against the Empire.

"I thought you might want to speak to them as well while you're out in this sector, the Prime Minister seemed eager to stay out of a galactic civil war but when he learned about our efforts he agreed to see you." Zaniel explains.

Intrigued by Zaniel's report she puts that thought on hold and informs the pilots about their mission with Major Garan.

"That can be arranged however I'd need you as escort to get me there and I just received word from one of our officers requesting you regroup with him for an mission he has planned against the Empire."

"An attack against the Imps!?" Tosch states.

"Yes they need human pilots to pose as Imperial officers, I don't know the specifics about the mission but the purpose is to try and acquire ships, supplies and weapons." Taneel explains.

Surprised by their initiative so soon Zaphael begins to wonder if Ryndori should consider getting involved with this resistance movement. Lost in thought he's shaken out of it by the senator as she asks if he would be willing to join up.

"I would . . . have to check with my superiors but I would be willing to help." Zaphael says.

With that Taneel reports back to Garan with this new information. Garan is glad to hear of the new prospect as well as a fourth pilot that she may be able to send.

"I've never heard of this Ryndori but I'll inform Mon Mothma, I have no doubt she'll be pleased to send you there however that would have to wait until after the mission. Seeing as I'd be taking your pilots away from you temporarily." Garan explains.

Taneel agrees and informs him that she'll dispatch the pilots to the coordinates she received.

"Very good, thank you Senator." Garan replies as his image disappears.

"You'll need to leave right away gentlemen, Zaphael please contact your superiors right away and let them know I'll be happy to meet with them once my business here is concluded. Also if you're able to accompany your brother on this mission we'll need to know right away." Taneel explains.

"Thank you Senator, I will contact them immediately." Zaphael says as he returns to his ship to contact Ryndori.

* * *

Kesaro is surprised by his request once he learns of their mission against the Empire. Zaphael informs him he's not aware of the details yet but would like to go along.

"You may go if you wish Lt, I just hope this doesn't lead you down a path which will take you away from Ryndori" Kesaro says metaphorically.

"Not at all Sir but he is my brother and if there are other planets working to fight the Empire it forces me to wonder if Ryndori should get involved." Zaphael replies. "Whatever happens Sir I will always be there to defend Ryndori, it's home Sir."

"I understand, good luck Lt. Report back to us once your ready to escort the senator here." Kesaro explains.

After the transmission ends Zaphael look over towards his brother's fighter just as R9 hops in the socket with Zaniel following alongside his two wing-mates.

"Looks like I'm going with you."

Zaniel smiles glad to hear the news as he hops in the fighter. Tosch and Wurth man their own ships and follow Zaniel into space.

"R9 is sending you the hyperdrive coordinates now." Zaniel says over the comlink. "I'm glad your with us Zaphael, hey did you ever have a nickname growing up?"

"It doesn't quite roll of the tongue like Zaniel does it. Yeah it's Zaph, just shortened." he replies.

"I like it." Zaniel adds smiling.

A moment later the quartet of fighters jump into hyperspace bound for Utapau.

* * *

Once Gleim received word from his remaining two freighter pilots Balek and Garan ordered his team to find any lone Imperial shuttle and seize it as discreetly as possible. The team rendezvous in a cantina on Vinsoth in the Quelii sector of the Outer Rim where they begin discussing options for acquiring an Imperial shuttle. Cyprus Mayn, the only human in Gleim's group, was the first to propose a half decent plan.

Having information from a undisclosed source Mayn informed Gleim of an Imperial General who was due to return home on Corellia soon. Being from Corellia himself and familiar with the location Mayn suggested they lie in wait for the General's shuttle to arrive at his private residence.

"That's crazy, there's no way you can commandeer that shuttle while it's at his residence." Gleim exclaims. "The General surely has a state of the art security system, possibly even his own detachment of troopers stationed there."

"I don't plan to steal it while it's at his home, I plan to steal it in flight after it drops his cruelness off for the weekend." Mayn replies referring to the Imperial officer.

"What makes you so sure the shuttle won't remain there?" Xafus asks.

"My source has been tracking his movements for weeks, he has a personal vendetta against this particular officer and has been planning a hit on him while at his residence." Explains Mayn. "The shuttle won't stay there, my source guarantees it."

"So even if you get aboard without notice how do we ensure we make a clean getaway?" Gleim asks. "We can't have the General reporting the shuttle as stolen."

"Well first as I said before I will wait until it's in flight to take out the pilots . . . ."

"You'll have to use a stun baton for that." Xafus adds. "Even set to stun your blaster could short out the controls, no controls, no shuttle."

"Good point." Says Gleim.

"Not a problem, anyway secondly my source will be there working in tandem with us. Once we nab the shuttle the general and whatever guards he has at his disposal there will be too distracted dealing with his incursion. If the hit is successful he won't be around to report his shuttle has been stolen." Mayn crossing his arms.

"And in the event your friend fails to take out the General?" Gleim asks.

"Then the General will assume the ship was taken out by the same incursion team."

"You're willing to let your friend take that blame? Gleim pressures.

"It's a risk sure but I don't think he'll care if he's dead." Mayn replies.

"What's in it for him if we go along with this plan?" Xafus says following Gleim's line of thought.

"He gets his revenge plus the chance to raid the General's residence for any loot he finds, we get the shuttle." Mayn adds.

Gleim thinks it over for a few moments and even speaks with Xafus in private getting his input on the plan as well. After returning to the secluded table where the others await he orders Mayn to make contact with his friend.

The next day after Mayn, his contact and his team get in position just below the ridge of the General's residence to await the arrival of the shuttle. The shuttle lands on time as expected and drops off its passenger. After watching the General and his entourage disappear into the residence Cyprus sneaks aboard the ship before it takes off.

As Mayn's contact and his team undoubtedly began their incursion into the residence Mishi Strepk, a Twi'lek and captain of the Ryloth's Revenge, is waiting in orbit to follow the shuttle out of the system. Once she spots the shuttle on her radar approaching the upper atmosphere Mishi pings Mayn's comlink signaling him that he's clear to move on the pilots. Receiving the ping Mayn draws dual stun batons and heads for the cockpit taking out both pilots.

While he's only able to score two Imperial pilot uniforms, in addition to the shuttle, Mayn considers it a success as he pilots the ship out of the system. Followed by Mishi he regroups with Gleim and the other freighters of their team waiting behind one of Corellia's moons. Along with his own ship the Dagger, named for his love of edged weapons and piloted temporarily by Xafus, Mayn and the others begin calculating a jump to lightspeed.

"Cyprus be sure both of those pilots are secure before we make the jump." Gleim says over the comm.

"Don't worry, I slapped binders on each of them after I dragged 'em out of the cockpit. They won't be waking up anytime soon though." replies Mayn.

Moments later the five freighters and the Imperial shuttle punch their way into hyperspace.

* * *

Nearly twenty-four hours later the scout ship arrives on Naboo, unknowingly being followed by the Hunter's Arrow. As Loa notices the ship heading for a private hangar so he sets down the Arrow outside of the city. He then dispatches another spy probe with orders to follow the Jedi or alert him when they take off.

Jori lands the ship in Theed's main hanger bay as a security detail comes out to greet them. The Jedi introduce themselves and request to speak with the Queen. The Naboo officers escort the Jedi to the Queen's briefing room where she is awaiting them excitedly.

"Master Jedi its so glad to see you both, how may I be of assistance." The queen says as her handmaidens bring some refreshments for the guests.

"We've come to ask for asylum, we need to exile ourselves and hoped we could be hidden somewhere remote." Jori says taking a sip of the beverage.

"Of course, I'm happy to help any Jedi that comes to Naboo for safety. After all the Jedi have done much for us in the past, in fact I remember Jedi Tano being here once before. You were here during the blue shadow virus crisis right?" The Queen replies.

Ahsoka is taken aback by the Queen's memory and realizes she and Jori came to the right place.

"We can have you setup in the lake country up north, it's very isolated and you'll have everything you need. When would you like to leave?"

"Right away your highness, I don't mean to be rude but the last time I delayed to exile myself my master was slain by the Sith." Jori explains.

The queen graciously advises Jori to think nothing of it as she has her staff make the arrangements right away. A half hour later The queen now dressed in travel attire leads the Jedi back to the hanger. She advises the Jedi to follow the her starship towards their destination. Jori pilots the scout ship into the air following the chrome royal cruiser; meanwhile the hidden spy probe reports this to Katal. He takes off and follows them from a distance. An hour later they arrive at a small house on a large lake resort.

After debarking the queen informs the Jedi the location is not only remote but a private one at that and they should never see anyone near the area. She also points out the coordinates a mile or two away where they can land their ship in a hidden hanger behind a waterfall.

"The platform is built into the underground river there and there's a tunnel leading from inside the bay back outside." The queen informs. She continues the tour through the house and informs them that there is a garden out back to grow food as well as the lakes where they can fish. "I would offer to fly shipments of food up here every few months but I assume you wish to stay in solitary."

"That's correct your highness, we can't thank you enough for all this." Jori says.

"It's perfect, thank you." Ahsoka adds.

"My pleasure." The queen says as her men finishing bringing in crates of food, linens, clothing, tools and other supplies. "Well I wish this weren't goodbye but if you ever need anything further please come see me. May the Force be with you."

Shortly after they watch the queen's ship take off Jori offers to go hide the scout ship.

"Sounds good, I'll start unpacking all this food." Ahsoka says.

Jori finds the waterfall with ease and scans the cliff just to ensure she doesn't have the wrong one. After verifying it's the correct one she flies through the waterfall and spins the ship around to face outwards. She finds the tunnels easily enough that leads her outside and begins the walk back to the lake house. By the time she gets back Ahsoka had already unpacked the food and started with the linens, they make up the beds in the two small bedrooms separated by the sole fresher. Once all the crates are unpacked Ahsoka takes a seat on the front porch to relax.

"Exile blows and we've only been here an hour." Ahsoka says making ripples in the water with the Force.

"Count your blessings Ahsoka, at least we're not on Rhen Var." Jori says walking onto the porch as she hands Ahsoka a cool drink. "This place is beautiful and warm, it was horrible on Rhen Var. Very little animal life, minimal food supplies and it was freezing." Jori adds putting her feet up on the lounge chair.

"I know it's just the thought of being so useless.

"I understand but have faith in the Force." Jori says. "The Sith will their time to rule but it won't last, it can't last."

"How can you be so sure." Ahsoka asks curiously.

"I have faith, one day a new hope will emerge."

* * *

Having set his ship down several kilometers away from where he saw the scout ship land via radar, Loa grabs his long sniper rifle as well as a few other items and heads for the Jedi retreat. After a short ride on his fold out speeder bike he traverses the rest of the way on foot. He makes his way up a short hill overlooking the lake house and remains prone lying among the tall grass as he waits for nightfall to strike.


	19. The First Inquisitor

The next day on Utapau, as Garan is finishing up the final details for the attack on Sluis Van the rest of Gleim's team arrives with a Theta class shuttle. Gleim introduces Mishi and Cyprus to the rebel officers as they inform them that they've gotten their hands on two Imperial Pilots uniforms.

"What did you do with the pilots?" Garan asks.

"We took a short hop through hyperspace then dropped them off on one of Nubia's moons." Mayn explains.

"Well congratulations on the good job but we still need more uniforms for the undercover team."

"We're looking for officer and pilot uniforms right, not clone troopers?" Gleim asks.

"That's right." Garan replies. Gleim suggests they could sneak into the garrison on Agamar and try to swipe a few more uniforms there.

"That sounds too risky besides you just left there so they may be keeping an eye out for you."

"I have an idea!" Balek states explaining that there are more rebel spies serving aboard Star Destroyers as they once were.

"Great idea Captain, we can get in contact with those men and have them acquire the uniforms we need." Garan replies as he runs off to the control sphere.

He contacts Mon Mothma on Chandrila and requests to be put in contact with one of the spies stationed on board a star destroyer. After informing her of his plan and of the uniforms they require she advises him to protect his cover she cannot release the encrypted channel. However as Colonel Rieekan is the man's contact she'll have him brief the spy on the situation.

"Colonel Rieekan will contact you when the rendezvous is to be made, currently the Star Destroyer Vindicator is somewhere in the Albarrio sector, near Mygeeto I believe. I'd have your men head that way, Colonel Rieekan will contact them with the details." Mon Mothma explains.

"Thank you milady, Garan out." Garan immediately orders Balek and Kaeon to suit up in the two Imperial pilot uniforms. "Nkard and Idayk will go with you but they must stay out of sight during the exchange. Make sure they're dressed in dark clothing so they will blend in, you'll get your orders from Colonel Rieekan shortly."

"Any idea where we're going?" Balek asks.

"Albarrio sector, don't have the coordinates yet but she suggests you head there now so get suited up and I'll make sure the shuttle is fueled and prepped for launch."

"Yes Sir." Balek says retrieving his comrades.

A few minutes later Balek and crew, all carrying sidearm's, board the shuttle. Nkard and Idayk take the pilot seats and lift the shuttle off the platform, once clear of the sinkhole walls they extend the wings into the downwards position and ascend up into space.

Nkard lays in a course and jumps towards the Albarrio sector. Once there they shut down the engines and allow the ship to drift until they've received orders. Around thirty minutes later they receive a hail, Idayk activates the comm as the image of Colonel Rieekan appears.

"Greetings gentleman." Rieekan states. "We have a unique opportunity for you to acquire those uniforms; our spy, Captain Kyler has informed me that one of his junior officers recently died while fighting a galley fire on the ship. He's putting together the officer's effects to send to his family. This is your opportunity to grab these uniforms."

"One of our spies is in command of an entire Venator cruiser?" Kaeon asks.

"Negative, Kyler is a Captain in the Imperial Army, not the Navy." Rieekan replies giving the men the coordinates and details how to land aboard the Star Destroyer Vindicator. "Kyler will greet you personally and see that the cargo is loaded. He's got you landing during primary down time, only a skeleton crew will be aboard the bridge with himself on duty. As well as a small hanger control crew, should be easy enough since at least two of your are dressed accordingly. Just make sure you two stay in the cockpit." Rieekan says looking at Nkard and Idayk.

"Thank you Colonel." Balek replies.

"Good luck boys, you'd better hurry if you're to make the rendezvous on time. Rieekan out."

Nkard immediately sets a course for the coordinates given and makes the jump to lightspeed. A few parsecs later the shuttle emerges and within view of the Star Destroyer, they are hailed immediately and inform the vessel they've been summoned by Captain Kyler. The bridge designates a landing grid within the dorsal bays.

"Let's hope this goes smoothly." Balek says putting on his Imperial pilot's cap. "Let's go." Balek says once the shuttle lands inside.

Suddenly the dorsal bay doors close sealing them inside.

"Okay that's not good." Idayk states.

"Stay calm, let's go Lieutenant." Balek says to Kaeon.

They extend the ramp underneath the cockpit as they spot an officer accompanied by two clone troopers walking towards the shuttle. Balek and Kaeon walk down the ramp and salute. The officer returns the salute and introduces himself as Captain Kyler. Once the troopers put down the crate he dismisses them. Kyler waits for the troopers to be out of earshot then informs them the crate has several officers uniforms inside including boots, caps and ribbons.

"I got you several other ribbons that you can interchange on them, one set is for a colonel. I also smuggled in a few more pilot uniforms." Kyler explains.

"Thank you Captain." Balek replies as he and Kaeon pick up the crate and load it onto the shuttle. They walk back down the ramp to shake hands with Kyler, as they do Kyler hands them a datapad.

"To protect my cover you must follow the instructions listed here for the box in the bottom of the crate. It's the officer's personal effects. There's no manifest list so the uniforms won't be accounted for when you dispatch it." Kyler explains.

"Copy that, thanks again Captain." Balek replies as he and Kaeon board the shuttle.

Kyler turns around and nods to the control room signaling the order to reopen the bay doors. Moments later the shuttle lifts off and flies out of the hanger back into open space.

"That went well." Balek says cheerfully as he opens the crate and retrieves the small box Kyler mentioned.

"So back to Utapau?" Nkard asks.

"No . . ." Balek says reading the datapad concerning the box. "Just find me the nearest starport, we have to dispatch this to Coruscant first."

"Copy that." Nkard says pulling the hyperdrive lever.

* * *

Back on Utapau Zaniel and company arrive at the sinkhole base and are greeted by Major Garan. Gleim, who Zaniel had already met is there as well, he walks over and shakes hands with the pilot admiring his ship and the one like it that lands nearby. Zaniel introduces his brother along with Tosch and Wurth who excitedly ask about the upcoming mission.

"We'll hold off the briefing until Captain Balek and his team return from their mission." Garan replies as he shows the pilots into the base.

* * *

On the bridge of the Blood Saber, Admiral Soelin is being informed that the Arc-170 unit sent to follow the Chandrilan ship and its escort has missed their last scheduled check in. He then asks about the Arawak and learns it has escaped his grasp as well.

"What of the garrison on Agamar?" Soelin asks.

The subordinate informs him they are still searching the city but have not seen the Jedi since.

"Were the spaceports shut down as I ordered?"

"Yes Admiral, any ship wishing to leave the planet had to submit to a thorough search before take off."

"So if the Jedi are still on the planet they won't be going anywhere soon." Soelin replies only somewhat satisfied.

"Yes Sir however even though the spaceport and the city are locked down as well they may have escaped before then." The subordinate adds.

Soelin thinks about this for a moment and while he realizes it as a possibility he comes up with a contingency. "So by chance they are still somewhere on the planet what's the best way to flush them out?" Soelin says to himself.

While he didn't expect anyone heard him Major Mepone who is just returning to duty states from behind him that only a Force sensitive could sense another.

"That would leave us only with Lord Vader; aside from him we don't have another Force sensitive at our disposal. However I have an idea, come with me Major." Soelin states walking to the large holo display at the rear of the bridge.

"We don't have another Force sensitive but we might be able to find the next best thing." Grabbing a datapad Soelin starts pulling up Republic arrest records from the years during the Clone Wars.

Soelin like most of the Imperial officers were serving aboard the same cruisers under the command of the Jedi Knights during the war. Remembering an incident on Coruscant prior to his deployment to the Devaron system as Captain of the Republic cruiser Emancipator, Soelin begins scanning through the records month by month. Although he never knew the full details he remembers his deployment to that system was a direct result of a bounty hunter that infiltrated the Jedi Temple and had stolen some Jedi artifact. Finally he comes upon a file of a Duro bounty hunter.

"Sir with all due respect this bounty hunter is the next best thing?" Asks Mepone.

"No." Soelin says more to himself than his executive officer.

While the Duro shown in the file seems familiar it is not the figure he was searching for. As he tries to sort through his memories from nearly three years ago Soelin walks down the command walkway to the main viewport absentmindedly looking out at the stars.

Taking his queue from his superior Mepone grabs a spare datapad from the communications console and begins going through the same arrest records. He slowly makes his way down the walkway stopping short when he finds a file on a most interesting prisoner.

"Admiral, would this person not suite our purposes?" Mepone asks coming up beside Soelin.

Soelin attention is broken as he looks at the file in question; the file of a female Mirialan Jedi arrested for treason in the last year of the war.

"Even in the event that she is still alive there would be no way to control her." Replies Soelin.

"What is there to control? Her file says she betrayed the Jedi Order attempting to frame a fellow Padawan for her crimes." Mepone counters. "Surely there'd be enough incentive for her in eliminating two of her former Jedi friends."

"You're forgetting the first problem Major, that file doesn't state where she's currently incarcerated. For all we know she was executed as soon as Order 66 was issued."

"The file would say if she had been executed, all it says is that the file has been sealed by the Emperor's office."

"Enough Major, alive or not I will not agree to using her. Besides I don't think Lord Vader would be pleased if he discovered we unleashed a former Jedi to hunt down our current prey."

"Speaking of which Sir, when we locate these two Jedi why not simply summon Lord Vader for assistance?" Mepone asks.

"Because I would like to be a Moff one day Major, if we can capture or kill these two on our own it would greatly please not only Vader but the Emperor as well! His Highness might be willing to bestow the title upon me."

"Forgive me Admiral."

"Now back to the situation at hand. Where was I, ah yes."

Returning his attention to his datapad Soelin clicks on the link for known accomplices of the Duro bounty hunter and finds a female Clawdite changeling listed by the name Cato Parasitti. She had impersonated a Jedi in the Hall of Archives during their infiltration into the temple. The bounty hunter escaped but the changeling was apprehended.

"The file says to this day she's still serving her sentence on the asteroid prison Oovo IV."

"What is the plan then? We retrieve this Parasitti and have her impersonate another Jedi to draw them out?" Mepone asks.

"That's one possible way to go, inform the garrison commander we are leaving the system. While we are gone they are to continue sweeping Calna Muun and its outlying cities for the Jedi, then order helmsman to set course for Oovo IV!"

* * *

The next day Captain Balek and crew arrive back to the sinkhole base with their cargo, he reports to Major Garan as the crate is unloaded by his men.

"How did we make out Captain?" Garan asks.

Balek informs him of the uniforms and several sets of ribbons to adorn them during the attack.

". . . he even scored us some colonel's ribbons, based off your reports of the shipyard staff we'll be able to walk right in like we own the place!"

"That's a good idea Captain," Garan replies getting an idea.

"What's that Sir."

"The highest ranking officer stationed on the shipyard during normal shift hours is a captain, dressed as an Imperial Colonel you could walk right in and claim your making a random inspection of the place." Garan explains as Balek smiles liking the idea.

"We could even order the captain to evacuate his staff during the inspection." Balek adds.

While he likes the thought Garan states they wouldn't be able to evacuate all the Imperial personnel. "The Captain and his entourage would remain for sure, also the hanger bay control tower operators may not leave their post. I'm not sure how that will go over, that's something you'd have to play it out as you go. If nothing else you could have them move to one wing of the yard while you inspect the other; that might give you the time to secure some ships and weapons." Garan explains.

"Okay so if he complies to moves the crew to the opposite wing, at best we're looking at five or six in enemy numbers including the control tower. The strike team could split temporarily, have one half take out the control tower and the other move for the wing junction corridor." Balek states.

"Good, that gives me another idea though, come with me." Garan says leading him to a large holo display of the Sluis Van shipyard. As Balek remembers the shipyard has two wings with four total sections, Garan suggests that if they could arrange for Captain Kyler to inform Sluis Van about a possible inspection that they might have the yard captain ready a wing of completed ships. "This way we'd know in advance that one section or wing of the yard would house only completed ships. Whether frigates, corvettes, scout ships or shuttles, the Imps themselves would lead us there." Garan explains as Balek starts to get the picture.

"I follow, this would prevent us from having to work our way through the entire station." Balek replies.

"Right, now like I said you may not be able to evacuate them for the inspection but you could have them move to the other wing. The captain will likely stay with you but you'd have little opposition at first."

"True, what we'd have to look out for is the alternate access hatches into each wing from the docks. We'd have to seal those doors fast and there's a lot of them." Balek adds.

"Well if they're in the other wing you'd only have to seal the main door, the wing junction is about ten yards long and there's an airtight door on each end. So the strike team will need to seal both. However once you do this they'll be working to get through it. The only other way in is to go EVA in a space suit or dock with a ship on the other side" Garan replies.

"Well we'll have a few of our guys ready to hold them off as we move our pilots from the shuttle to the ships." Balek says looking over the shipyard holo. "Sounds easy enough, let's just hope it goes that way."

"Right, and remember before you leave you gotta plant that bomb to cover your escape. It should take out an entire section if not the whole wing."

"That'll surely turn their attention away from us." Balek says smiling.

"I'll see if we can get Kyler to assist, have the men stay close we may need to brief them soon." Garan says.

"About Kyler Sir, if he agrees he'll either have to find a way so the report isn't connected back to him or blow his cover. Once the Empire finds out about it they'll surely trace back to who reported the inspection team to the station." Balek says bringing up a good point Garan had almost forgotten about.

"Your right, have you decided who you want to lead the strike team?" Garan asks.

"I was thinking that new kid Lt. Brath, Senator Taneel seems to hold a high opinion of him. I figure we'll give him some responsibility and see how it turns out." Balek replies.

"Okay why don't you brief him in private and I'll see what Rieekan can do for us regarding Kyler's part, dismissed."

* * *

The Blood Saber comes out of hyperspace over Oovo IV, Soelin orders his shuttle prepped and a detail of clones to escort him to the prison. Before he leaves the bridge he informs Major Mepone of his new mission.

"Major if the Clawdite is to pull this off there will one vital piece necessary that we are missing."

Not realizing the answer Soelin informs him the item is a lightsaber. "Ah I see Sir but where are we to obtain a Jedi lightsaber? The Emperor had all the weapons in the temple on Coruscant destroyed or confiscated." Mepone states.

"Aside from asking Lord Vader, something I wouldn't dare try even if I were dead, we don't. However I've thinking about alternative options since we entered hyperspace. I took a second look at that file on the Mirialan Jedi you found and it seems when she was apprehended she was found to be in the possession of two curved lightsaber hilts." Soelin explains.

"Wouldn't they have been confiscated by the Jedi Order?" Mepone asks.

"More than likely but look into it nonetheless." Soelin orders. "If you are unable to locate those particular lightsabers then your next assignment will be to acquire one for us through the black market. Use whatever resources you need but it must be done discreetly."

"I will proceed immediately."

"If you find the mission requires your absence from the Blood Saber then contact the ship for rendezvous coordinates. My errand here on Oovo won't take long."

"Yes Admiral."

Soelin leaves the bridge headed for his shuttle with a security team already aboard; Mepone meanwhile leaves Major Duklaa in command of the bridge while he begins his research for his assignment.

Soelin's shuttle ascends out of the dorsal hangar and heads for the asteroid prison. As the shuttle lands outside the prison the clones troopers file out of the ship and follow Soelin into the prison complex. He walks up to the front desk and demands to see the prison warden. Moments later the warden comes out to greet Soelin and inquires how he may help him.

"You have a Clawdite by the name of Cato Parasitti among your inmates here. I would like to see her." Soelin orders.

While the warden notices the clone detail behind the officer he summons two of his own guards as well and escorts the Admiral to the isolation wing where the Clawdite is being kept.

It hits Soelin a moment later why such a low profile inmate would be kept in isolation, given her shapeshifting abilities if she were among the general population she could easily pass herself off as a prison guard or the warden himself. The warden stops in front of Cato's cell door as the clones spread out around it.

"There someone who wants to see you Cato." the warden says opening the door using his master keycard.

"I don't have anything to say." Cato says laying on her bunk not caring whom her visitor is.

"I have something to say to you changeling, does your freedom interest you?" Soelin asks stepping just within the cell alongside the warden and his guards.

"Whom do I have to kill?" Cato says jokingly.

"Three Jedi." Soelin replies knowing she'll bite.

"I thought the Jedi were all killed?" Cato asks finally sitting up laying eyes on the visitor.

"Not quite, there are just a few stragglers left. My battle group has been tracking them for a few days now. One of them is only a boy."

"So you're having trouble taking them out huh, and you need me to kill them for you?" Cato replies.

"More or less, actually we need a changeling like yourself to impersonate another Jedi or possibly other figures to draw them out. My magna-troopers will attack once we find them, there is a possibility you will have to engage them." Soelin explains.

"For that I'll need a lightsaber." Cato adds.

"Of course, my executive officer is working on that as we speak. Are you in, If you do well for me I'll see to your permanent release. I wouldn't even require that you have to kill them yourself; so long as your cooperation assists in their capture or death." Soelin says sweetening the pot.

After a few moments Cato agrees and Soelin pulls out a holoprojector.

"First a quick test, imitate this person." He says as an image of Jedi Knight Mace Windu appears, Cato changes forms in front of him as requested. Soelin changes the image from one Jedi to another as Cato. complies with each one.

"And their voices?" he asks.

Cato changes into Soelin's form as she says in his voice, "I can only impersonate a voice if I hear them first, however once I've heard it I can use it at will." Cato says as she changes back into herself in mid sentence.

"Impressive." Soelin says then turns to the warden as he exits the cell. "Bind her!"

"What, I thought we had a deal!?" Cato yells.

"We do but as I'm forced to take you with us until we encounter the Jedi again I cannot risk you imitating one of my men and skipping out on our arrangement." Soelin replies nodding to the warden to apply the binders immediately.

"I've got something better." The warden says as his guards place a magnetic wristband on her. The warden informs that she can still use her abilities while it's on her however it comes with two surprises. "There is a control switch that will emit an electrical shock if she misbehaves and the second switch will detonate a small charge implanted in the band; so if she tries to escape or changes into one of your men you can blow her to pieces."

Soelin accepts the remote from the warden securing it on his belt then orders him to bind her anyway.

"I'm taking no chances warden."

Moments later with the Clawdite bound and wired she is escorted aboard the shuttle. Once back aboard the Blood Saber he orders the clones to secure the prisoner in the detention area.

"I thought you said you wanted my help?" Cato says agitated.

"Fear not, you will be well treated until the time comes for you to perform your duty." Soelin says knowing the clone sergeant clearly heard his order.

He returns to the bridge finding his third in command, Major Duklaa, in charge.

"Major Mepone?" Soelin asks.

"Departed on a shuttle just before you returned Sir."Duklaa replies. "Stated he was carrying out your orders, took a few clones with."

"He works fast it seems." Soelin says. He orders Duklaa to set course for Agamar then he retires to his quarters for the evening.

* * *

 **So obviously the title of this chapter is a little duplicitous being that there isn't actually an Inquisitor in it but I'm still holding out hope that we might see Barriss Offee show up on Rebels at some point as an Inquisitor. Just in case you missed it the Mirialan referred to in the file was Barriss and I hope my intention to imply that Barriss could be an Inquisitor came across well since the Imperial officers noticed the file was sealed by Palpatine's office. Enjoy.**


	20. Elegant Weapon, Uncivilized Age

After receiving word from Rieekan that Captain Kyler can send an encrypted message to Sluis Van notifying them of a possible inspection, Major Garan summons his pilots in the briefing room. As he enters Balek is at the front of the room pulling up the holo display of Sluis Van.

"Thank you Captain." he says as Balek takes his position on the opposite side of the holo. "Ladies and gentleman, as most of you know we lost our base in the Sullust system recently. While we saved the cargo ships we lost a lot of good people as well as a lot of droid forces that we reprogrammed from the DCS. However we did take out one of the Imps Venators plus a small garrison on Dantooine, I'd say that means we can survive against the Empire, right!" Garan says as the rebels all cheer. He then quiets them down and says, "They hit us on Sullust so now I'm taking the initiative and decided that we're gonna hit back!" The Rebels cheer again excitedly.

"However this won't be a frontal assault," Garan says as the image appears on the display. "I give you the Sluis Van orbital shipyard." He then explains that the Emperor is trying to pass a law to nationalize the entire shipbuilding industry. "Sluis Van has already been under the control of the Empire for a few months and we know all of the civilian workers have been rotated off the station back to the planet. Our objective is to steal weapons and starships." Garan explains. "One of our spies serving in the Imperial Navy will alert the shipyard's commanding officer of an inspection team that plans to visit the shipyard. Per the encrypted orders by our spy the station commander will ready one wing of completed starships for the inspection, although the Imps won't know when exactly we're coming."

One of the rebels asks how they're to get aboard under the guise of an Imperial inspection team. Garan then turns the floor over to Balek.

"Thanks to the efforts of Captain Mayn and the same rebel spy who has alerted Sluis Van about the inspection, we've acquired a small Imperial shuttle and several officers and pilots uniforms." Balek explains.

"During the station's down time when the personnel will be at their lowest numbers, we will take the shuttle and dock with the shipyard in orbit over Sluis Van." Balek continues to explain that since no alien life forms serve in Imperial ranks all non-human rebel personnel will be hidden inside the shuttle. "Those of use that are human will be in Imperial disguises, will go in and order the yard Captain to move his crew to the opposite wing for the duration of the inspection. Then we'll take out the captain and his main staff as well as the control tower operators; disable communications and seal the wing junction corridor linking the two wings of the yard here." Balek says pointing out the double door central access point on the holo. "Once secure we'll place a strike team to guard the main corridor in case the Imps try to make their way back in." Balek also explains that the Imps may have alternate ways of getting back into the besieged wing and points them out. "Even with the station's lowest numbers there will still be a compliment of clone troopers on board but those will also be moved to the opposite wing when we arrive."

"How many are we talking about?" Tosch asks.

"Twenty, twenty five perhaps." Balek adds.

"Just remember, as long as we get that junction point sealed before they're on to us we'll have time to complete our mission and grab as many ships as we can." Garan says stepping in. "Also as Captain Balek said before, most of the station will be on down time so you'll have the element of surprise."

"Right, in the meantime our non-human pilots will be brought out of the shuttle and commandeer as many ships as possible. At the same time the rest of us in Imp disguises will raid the armory and load whatever we can into each of the stolen ships." Balek informs. After a few questions he informs the group that all ships will set a multi-jump course through hyperspace and eventually rendezvous at a location yet to be determined.

"More than likely the ships will not be sent back here." Garan steps in as he notices a raised hand.

"When do we get our specific assignments?" one of Sogan's men asks.

"I was just about to do that." Balek says pulling out the Imperial ribbons provided by Kyler.

"Captain Balek will be assuming the role of the Colonel as he is leading this mission." Garan informs.

"Right, our team will consist of three groups. The inspection team will consist of myself, Lieutenants Keaon, Nkard, Idayk and Sogan. We will all be wearing the typical, puke green officer's uniforms the Empire seems to adore so much." Balek says getting a laugh as he and Garan once wore them daily during their time as a spy aboard the Jedi Hunter I.

"The strike team will be Lieutenants Judson, Crake, Zaphael Brath, Cyprus Mayn and the remaining N squadron pilots. This team will be led by Lieutenant Zaniel Brath and will be disguised in the black Imperial pilots uniforms. Zaphael looks over at his brother not realizing he played such an important role in the Rebellion.

"Granted that many pilots may seem too many for one shuttle so the men of N squadron will pose as new pilots out of the Imperial academy on Carida. If asked we'll state that your deadheading towards Coruscant." Balek adds. "Finally the pilot team will consist of Gleim, Xafus, Pomek, Tarmy, and Mishi, you will commandeer any ship available that's designated ready for service by the station captain. Now there are likely to be more than five ships ripe for the picking but the strike team as well as the inspection team will fall into any remaining ships that are available within reason. If the Imps start breaching the junction corridor and we're compromised we'll fall out immediately with whatever we can." Balek says wrapping up. "However as long as things go our way we'll continue onwards, as far as the pilot team goes once your ready to launch you must await a green light. Keep in mind we'll be stocking each ship with as many weapons, armaments and other gear we can find in the station's armory."

"He's right, this whole operation will be played by ear. We don't want to trade lives for an extra ship, so we take what we can get, once all three teams fall into the escape ships Lt. Zaniel Brath will plant a thermal charge near the junction corridor and remotely detonate it once you've gotten away." Garan states.

"Aside from the inspection team all members should be leaving the station in a different ship then you arrived in. Last but not least, everyone will be armed with a blaster pistol." Balek adds. "We are after all posing as an inspection team so we can't go in toting heavy rifles or the game is up."

Garan then informs the team that Sluis Van has already been informed of the possible inspection. He orders the group to assemble in front of the shuttle in one hour armed and dressed in their disguises.

After the group disperses Zaphael asks his brother about his role in the mission. "I had no idea you had this much responsibility?"

"I don't, flying escort for Senator Taneel was my first assignment in any combat situation."

"Sounds like she definitely put in a good word about you." Zaphael adds.

"Yeah I just hope I don't let her down."

* * *

Several hours later in Courscant's underworld Major Mepone, dressed in civilian clothing, is meeting the fourth in a series of tradesmen and artifact dealers rumored to have a Jedi lightsaber among their wares. With a cap pulled low over his face Mepone walks into yet another filthy drinking establishment somewhere on level 1317 and finds the brown furred Gotal waiting for him.

"You Gal'chak?" Mepone says taking the stool across from him.

"That depends, I don't take meetings without knowing you have money to spend." replies the Gotal taking a slug on his drink.

Mepone pulls out a handful of credits quickly showing the Gotal that he means business. "I'm Mellith, you have what I'm looking for?" Mepone says putting the credits away.

"I don't care to know your name; regarding the item you seek, I might have one."

"Might, is a waste of my time. I'm ready to buy, do you have one or not?" Mepone demands.

"You know a weapon like that draws a lot of attention, despite their value since not many would be foolish enough to carry one, especially since the Empire is still trying to hunt down the last of their kind." Gal'chak replies. "Just so we're clear, you're not one of them are you?"

"Not a chance."

"Had to be sure, you understand I would profit way more if you were."

Mepone flashes the Gotal a sarcastic smile.

"Oh well, so what do you want it for?"

"That's my business, now I'll ask one more time. Do you have one or not?"

"I do but I can't sell it here of course." Gal'chak replies.

"Where then?" Mepone asks losing his patience.

"Meet me in the alley out back in ten minutes."

"Don't play games with me."

"Calm down, I just have to retrieve it. As I said it's not wise to carry it around. It's not far, ten minutes." The Gotal says as he slips out of the cantina.

Once gone Mepone opens a channel on his comlink. "Back alley, ten minutes."

Mepone discreetly removes himself from the establishment a few minutes later and makes his way to the back alley. A few minutes later the Gotal arrives on a swoop bike. They both look left and right making sure no one is watching them; satisfied that they are alone the Gotal opens side compartment on the swoop and the cylindrical object wrapped in a piece of cloth. He removes the cloth and hands Mellith the hilt.

"It belonged to a Kubaz Padawan, or so I heard." Gal'chak says.

Having never held a lightsaber before Mepone is surprised by its weight as he turns it over in his hand admiring it. He thumbs the activator and ignites the weapon displaying a deep blue hue to the blade. Indeed it was an elegant weapon but not practical in his mind.

"How much?" Mepone asks deactivating it.

"Seven thousand."

"That's outrageous." Mepone says and counters with two.

"Hey, uh Mellith wasn't it. You want an item that unique, not to mention rare these days, you're gonna have to drop some serious coin on it!"

"Fine, thirty-five hundred."

"No, maybe this was a waste of my time. Give it here." The Gotal replies reaching for the weapon.

Mepone draws back keeping the blade out of reach. "You haven't even countered."

"Not going to." replies Gal'chak.

"Five thousand."

"Not gonna cut it."

"That's all I have, you said yourself not many would be foolish enough to carry one of these. You want to make a sale or not?"

"There's not much profit in it for me at five."

Truthfully not having more than five thousand on him Mepone finds himself frustrated for not being more prepared. However he comes up with an alternative idea. "Perhaps we can work something out. I have some Imperial connections, I'm sure there's something I can do for you to make up the difference." Although suspicious of him Mepone notices the Gotal's widen ever so slightly, almost eagerly. "There is something you have in mind isn't there. I can see it in your eyes, what is it?"

Hesitant and still suspicious of Mellith the Gotal finally speaks. "My . . . my ship is in impound, due to unpaid docking fees. I have other wares on board that I haven't been able to sell because I can't access it."

"How much do you owe?" Mepone asks.

"Thirty-five hundred."

"Very well, I'll clear your debt and give you the other thirty-five here, deal?"

"I'll need assurance that my debt it cleared first." Gal'chak replies.

"Of course, give me a moment to place a call." Mepone begins to step away with the lightsaber still in hand.

"Ah, ah. The item stays with me."

"I'll be right over there." Mepone replies.

"Stop!" Gal'chak demands pulling a small blaster from underneath his coat.

"Really, you're going to pull a blaster on me." Mepone says as he notices the red targeting dot on the Gotal's chest.

Before he can give the signal to fire to his hidden clone trooper manning the sniper rifle, a large Kitonak jumps from a heightened position landing with a thud next to Mepone. Wielding a blaster rifle with a gruesome looking scythe attached to the barrel aimed directly at Mepone studies the pudgy being for a moment remaining calm.

"It didn't have to be this way." Mepone says as a second targeting dot appears on the Kitonak's chest.

Although eager to simply have his snipers kill the trader scum an his big friend Mepone isn't confident that one or even several blaster shots would stops the Kitonak before he is impaled by the razor sharp scythe. Mepone slowly holds up his hand for the clones to back off; they comply as the targeting dots disappear but continue observing the situation.

"We can both still walk away from this. Lower your guns, I'll give you the lightsaber and I'll go make that call."

"Make the call here, you walk away and your friends will shoot us."

"I won't divulge the identify of my contact." Mepone says meaning himself. "You want your ship back or not?" he adds holding out the hilt.

The Gotal lowers his blaster taking the weapon back, however the Kitonak keeps his weapon trained on Mellith.

"What's the name of your ship?"

"The Bonetiller."

As Mepone walks out of the alley he hears one of his clone snipers speaking to him.

"Should we take them out now Sir?" says Greaser.

"As much I'd like to I don't know if you're weapons will stop that pudgy behemoth, plus I'm still in range of his rifle." Mepone replies as he opens a channel on his comlink to Imperial headquarters on the surface. Using his Imperial access code he orders the debt on the Gotal's ship cleared.

A moment later he walks back into the alley just as the Gotal receives a message on his comlink stating he is clear to retrieve his ship.

"You've undoubtedly received confirmation." Mepone says handing him the other thirty-five hundred in credits. "I believe that belongs to me now."

Reluctantly Gal'chak hands over the weapon and hops on his swoop. He says something in a language Mepone doesn't recognize to the Kitonak as he fires up the swoop.

"Can't say it was a pleasure but nice doing business with you." Gal'chak says as his big friend disappears into the shadows as he speeds off.

Once gone Mepone breathes a sigh of relief and orders one of the clones to bring the speeder around. After arriving back to his shuttle Mepone contacts the Blood Saber for rendezvous coordinates. After receiving them from Major Duklaa, who informed him Soelin had retired for the evening, Mepone orders his pilot to take him to Agamar.


	21. Raiders of the Empire

An hour later Zaniel and Zaphael are putting on their disguises as Imperial pilots, once fully dressed they each secure a holster to their right hip and fit a blaster snug inside.

"Have you ever been in combat before Zaph?"

"You mean aside from helping you take out those Arc 170's, no."

"Whatever you do, don't hesitate. If your forced into a situation where it's you or them don't hesitate." Zaniel says.

"I'll try to remember that, why?"

Zaniel hesitates a moment then says, "It's just, we haven't gotten to know each other that well yet but . . . I'd hate to lose a brother when I'd just found him."

Zaph is taken aback by his brother's words. "In that regards you do the same." Zaph says extending his hand. Zaniel takes his hand and pulls him into a quick hug.

"Let's fall in." Zaniel says smiling.

Garan walks out to the landing pad where Balek's three teams are assembled in their assigned groups and ready to board. Balek is the last to make it to the shuttle, he walks towards it straightening his uniform and putting on his cap. He joins the group as he orders Kaeon and Nkard to get the ship prepped for takeoff.

"One moment Captain, excuse me. Colonel." Garan says with a smile.

"Today we're taking the fight to the Imperials, be swift, safe and be alert and hopefully you'll all return together. May the Force be with you." The team boards the shuttle as one and moments later Kaeon lifts the ship off the deck.

The Theta class shuttle arrives in the Sluis sector a few hours later, they continue on their course to the shipyard on sublight engines. Nearly an hour later Nkard informs the crew that they have a visual of the planet, shortly thereafter they spot the shipyard in orbit around it. Balek quickly goes over everyone's assignment once more as they near closer to the yard.

A few moments later they are hailed by the station, Nkard provides their cover story about the inspection team and are allowed to land. They are directed to a small hangar bay designed to ferry worker or troop transports to and from the planet. As they land Balek notices and officer and a small receiving party walking towards the ramp of the shuttle. The ramp extends and Balek walks out with the others following.

"Welcome Colonel, we are honored by your visit." the station captain says.

"I am Colonel Kelab and this is my command staff, we are here to inspect your post." Balek says reversing his name for the disguise.

"Yes of course Sirs welcome. I am Captain Stane and I am happy to accommodate you with anything you may need.

"Thank you, first of all this may take awhile and I have several Imperial pilots on board that are deadheading their way to Coruscant. Is there perhaps a place where they can wait while we conduct the inspection?" Balek says. "It's a small shuttle and it's pretty cramped."

Stane informs him there is a small rec area just down the hall that they can use.

"Good, now I'm aware that you have a section of completed ships ready for me see?"

"Yes Colonel that's correct." Stane replies.

"Good, then if you will move your entire staff to the opposite wing of the shipyard I will begin."

The captain is surprised by the request but follows the order, however he requests that himself and his two lieutenants remain to escort them through the yard and answer any questions that the colonel might have. As expected Balek agrees to the suggestion as the captain quickly carries out his orders. He informs the station in the designated wing to move to the opposite one immediately. A few minutes later the captain returns with his lieutenants ready to show him the way.

As the inspection team is escorted through the shipyard the strike team is led to the waiting area by one of Stane's lieutenants. As he rejoins the inspection crew. Zaniel waits a few moments for a signal from Balek to commence the operation.

"Once its clear rejoin us in the main corridor." Zaniel says reminding the N squadron pilots about the control tower.

After inspecting a few of the armored corvettes docked in the shipyard Balek subtly hits a switch on his comlink. Zaniel receives the signal and orders Sogan's men to go as he leads the other half of the strike team to the main corridor. Meanwhile Balek retrieves his blaster and points it at Stane, Kaeon and Nkard take out the two subordinates knocking them out cold.

"We'll keep the captain here for insurance." Balek says as Idayk binds Stane's wrists together.

Seconds later Zaniel and team rush by to secure the corridor linking the two wings together.

"Get those doors closed!" Zaniel orders as his team spots two of Stane's men arbitrarily walking passed the junction door.

The two junior offers notice the pilots running towards them with blasters in hand and immediately realize something is amiss. The first man uses his comlink to sound an alert throughout the station as the second yells for the clones in a nearby rec room.

"Colonel we've got trouble!" Zaniel says in his comlink without using Balek's name.

Zaph makes for the door as two clone troopers step into view of the junction.

"Sir what's going on?" One of the clones says with his DC-15 blaster in hand but not raised.

"We're under attack!" Zaniel yells right behind his brother.

As the clone asks where the threat is Zaniel fires his blaster taking out the clone. Zaph fires taking out the next one as they move for the junction. Hearing blasterfire more clones step into the central corridor seeing two of their brothers dead. They begin firing down the hall as they move towards the junction corridor. Zaph slides towards the door dodging blasterfire and hits the switch to close both doors. As a pair of clones hit the switch to reopen it Zaph blasts the control panel which leaves his door about a third of the way open. He peeks around the corner to see that one clone got through to the corridor but the rest are on the other side.

"Zaph watch out!" Zaniel says thinking his brother doesn't spot the solitary clone in the corridor. Zaniel fires taking him down. "Back away from that door if they breach the other side."

"Copy that." Zaph says remaining posted next to their side of the corridor.

The other eight members of the N squadron arrive from having secured the control tower and Zaniel deploys them throughout the main hallway to cover the junction as well as air lock access hatches from the docks.

Balek immediately orders the pilot team deploy and man their ships. Hearing the word while in the shuttle Gleim, holding his double barreled shotblaster, leads the group out of the shuttle and into the main corridor. Balek spots them and points out at least six corvettes docked at the rear end of the section. He then orders Sogan to stay with their Imp hostage as he and the others make for the armory.

The four rebels blast their way into the armory and grab a hovercart, they take rifles one by one off the wall racks and stack them on the cart.

"Explosives too!" Balek adds as he and Kaeon load the first cart full.

Balek orders Kaeon to take the first load to the corvette where Gleim is already prepared to take off. Kaeon hugs the walls of the central corridor careful not to get blasted by oncoming fire as he pushes the cart towards the first Corvette. He exits the main corridor entering the staging area where each ship can be loaded, refueled and repaired from. Each staging area houses an array of repair stations, diagnostic computer terminals and refueling pumps. Kaeon pushes the hovercart loaded with supplies into the docking hatch and secures it within the corvette Gleim is piloting.

"Are you ready to go?" he says to Gleim.

"You bet."

"Colonel, Gleim is ready to launch." Kaeon states over his comlink.

Balek orders Kaeon to remain on the ship with Gleim as copilot and take off so they can cover the outer perimeter of the station. "Keep an eye out for Imperial reinforcements." he says as Kaeon closes the docking hatch.

Once the hatch is shut Gleim disengages the docking clamps and leaves the shipyard as ordered.

Nkard and Idayk finish loading the next cart full of weapons and power cells as Balek orders Idayk to secure it onto Xafus's ship as Nkard immediately grabs another hovercart to begin loading more supplies. Balek orders Sogan to blindfold and gag Stane and secure him on Xafus's corvette and keep watch over him. He then checks in with Zaniel whose team has begun taking more fire.

"Take cover." Zaniel orders as he blasts one of the clones that squeezes through the door.

"How are we doing?" Balek asks.

"They've breached their side of the junction corridor but they still haven't gotten our door open. However the are starting to make their way through." Zaniel replies firing his blaster.

"Keep me updated." Balek says as another hovercraft full of weapons is loaded onto a corvette. A moment later Tarmy comms Balek stating she's ready to go. "Good, regroup with Gleim and wait for my orders."

"I'm outta here too." Mishi states over the comm.

"Wait Mishi there's cargo coming your way." He says as Nkard moves another hovercart through the connecting staging area onto her corvette,

"Okay you can go now Mishi!" Balek says in the comlink.

With the armory almost completely emptied of small arms Balek orders Nkard and Idayk to start loading starships armaments onto the remaining ships.

"Colonel, we could use something more powerful to hold these clones off. They've gotten to door open further and are starting to pour in." Zaniel exclaims backing up to another position.

Balek replies advising him to send Mayn back for the grenades. Realizing they can't use a thermal detonator aboard the station Balek grabs a couple flash grenades from the armory and hands it to the rebel. At the same time he gets word that Pomek is about ready to depart.

"Wait one Pomek." Balek says as he checks with Idayk and Nkard.

"Armaments are almost all gone Sir." Nkard replies pushing another cart down the main corridor.

Balek orders Nkard to take the nearest unmanned cruiser with half of Sogan's men and split. Then he informs Zaniel that they are about ready to pull out.

Balek then notices at least two more corvettes back towards the shuttle hangar and orders the last four men of N squadron to take one and go. He then sends Idayk back to the shuttle to prep it for take off.

"Judson, Crake take the last corvette and get outta here! Zaniel, you your brother and Mayn, deploy your flash grenades and set that bomb. Pomek is waiting for you in the last corvette!" Balek says running back to the hanger.

A few moments later the shuttle carrying Balek and Idayk takes off and regroups with the other corvettes waiting in orbit. After a few seconds of silence he comms back to Zaniel asking what's taking so long.

"We're being overrun, you pulled all my backup Sir." Zaniel says muffled on the comm.

"C'mon get outta there!" Balek says to himself more than to Zaniel.

Back on the shipyard Zaniel orders Mayn to chuck one of the flash grenades.

"Don't look!" the flash goes off blinding the six troopers that made their way through the corridor. "Now!" Zaniel yells as he and his men step out and fire taking down four of them right away. "Zaph, here." Zaniel says as he tosses a thermal detonator to his brother who's positioned closest to the door. He takes out another clone as two more make their way through the door. "Cyprus tell Pomek to be ready to bolt!"

Zaph tries to make his way to the door to plant the charge but comes up short as two more clones squeeze through the junction door. Zaniel fires taking down another as he spots more coming his way.

"Cyprus give me the last grenade." Zaniel orders as he is tossed the spherical weapon. "Go the ship and be ready to close the docking hatch behind us."

As Mayn retreats as ordered Zaniel yells to get his brothers attention. Zaph who is pinned by blasterfire behind one of the bulkheads looks to his brother who is holding up the last flash grenade.

"Be ready to move!"

Zaniel chucks the flash grenade at the clones pouring through the junction. The grenade explodes stunning the clones. The brothers step out from their cover blasting the clones that have made it through the junction.

"Set the charge!" Zaniel yells to his brother as he continues firing into the corridor.

Zaphael slides to the junction corridor and plants the charge on the door. The clones see this and make for the corridor to disarm it before it blows.

"Move!" Zaph says firing and hitting another clone as he heads for the last corvette with his brother ahead of him.

Zaniel stops just short of the hatch to see where his brother is as he removes the remote detonator for the charge. As he turns he notices Zaph jumping towards him! Zaniel presses the detonator and the charge explodes just as Zaph tackles his brother into the ship. Pomek releases the docking clamp once Mayn informs him the brothers are in. He closes the hatch just as the vacuum of space begins to pull them back out. The hatch catches them just as it closes shut.

"Go Pomek!" Mayn yells through the comlink.

Pomek pushes the thrusters in full as the besieged wing of the shipyard explodes from the inside ripping it to shreds.

Surprisingly the other half holds as Balek assumes that side of the junction corridor must have been sealed by the clones just in time.

"That was too close!" Zaniel says with his brother still on top of him.

Balek opens a comm channel to all of the corvettes and orders them to commence the multi-jump course through hyperspace to the rendezvous point.

* * *

 **So I had a lot of trouble coming up with a title for this chapter. Obviously I wanted to throw a shout out to Raiders of the Lost Ark but it took me awhile to find one I really like. My brother came up with a brilliant title, "Raiders of the Arc-170" however I had already written the chapter and didn't want to re-write it. Plus I specifically didn't want to have the rebels steal Arc-170's because I had another interesting idea in the chapters ahead. Anyway thanks to my bro for coming up with a killer title, even if I didn't use it.**


	22. Death by Dusk

Over Agamar Major Mepone's shuttle lands inside the Blood Saber returning from his mission. Mepone, back in uniform, walks to the bridge right away and presents the lightsaber he acquired to Admiral Soelin.

"You've done well Major." Soelin says taking the saber from his hand. He ignites the blue blade examining it closely. "Such an unusual piece of weaponry, don't you think?"

"Yes Admiral, I assume the Clawdite agreed to help us?" Mepone asks.

"More or less." Soelin replies. As he continues to admire the blade Soelin's third in command Major Duklaa informs them that they just received word of a possible attack on the Sluis Van shipyards. Soelin deactivates the blade after hearing the news. "What happened?"

"Unsure yet Admiral we just received an initial report but apparently nearly half of the station has been destroyed." Duklaa states.

"The Emperor will surely get that law passed now," Mepone says sarcastically.

"That's irrelevant in this case Major, Sluis Van was already under Imperial control." Soelin replies turning back to Duklaa. "Was there anything in the report to suggest this was an accident of some sort?"

"No Sir."

"Then it sounds like a blatant attack on the Empire . . . . keep me informed."

"Yes Admiral." Duklaa replies.

* * *

An hour later somewhere in the Savareen sector the corvette convoy comes out of their fifth hyperspace jump. Balek comms Gleim's ship and asks him to open the hangar door. Gleim does as requested as Idayk pilots the ship underneath the corvette, he extends the wings back to their upright position then ascends into the hanger bay with just enough room to fit. Kaeon greets them and leads the way to the bridge.

"Gleim open a channel to the fleet." Balek says taking the jump seat behind Gleim once aboard the bridge. "Good job everyone, we made out with eight well armed corvettes and a fodder load of weapons and ammo. Is everyone accounted for?"

"A few of Sogan's boys got hit on the way out but they're being attended to. They'll make it." Nkard says over the comlink.

"That's good to hear Lt, just to make sure the Imps aren't on our tail we'll make another jump in thirty minutes. I am going to report back to Major Garan in the meantime so just relax awhile and the first round is on me when we get back to base, Balek out."

"Sir wait!" Sogan says over the comm trying to catch Balek before ending the transmission. "What about the prisoner?"

"I almost forgot, for now secure him in a room and keep him blindfolded. Make sure no names are used when in his presence, I'll see if Major Garan has any suggestions."

"Copy that Colonel, I mean Captain." Sogan says ending the transmission.

Balek then opens a channel to Utapau, after entering his encoded identifier the image of Major Garan appears. "How did we do Captain?" Garan asks.

"Excellent Sir, no losses only a few wounded and we made out like a bandit."

Garan, surprised by how swiftly the mission went then asks about the ships. Balek informs him about the eight vessels and that they were able to raid the armory of its small arms and starships armaments.

"We can even resupply the N-1 fighters with torpedoes." Balek adds.

"I'm amazed Captain, excellent job." Garan replies.

"Thank you Sir, now the big question. Where are we taking them? We can't hide them on Utapau."

"Exactly, they're the beginnings of a rebel fleet Captain. I've just received word from Mon Mothma that she has plenty of volunteers to crew those ships, I was also thinking that we might disband N squadron and place two of the N-1's on each corvette for fighter support." Garan explains.

Knowing the Theta class shuttle barely fit into the bay Balek advises that they might have to renovate the bays to stack the N-1's on top of each other.

"There's not enough room to land them in single file much less side by side."

"Hmm, well that can be done but I agree; that shouldn't be done here on Utapau." Garan thinks for a moment. "Send the fleet to the planet Wroona, it's near the edge of the inner rim in Rayter sector."

Balek whose never heard of the planet pulls it up on a holo of a galactic starchart. "I'm assuming it's vacant by the Empire?"

"For now, it a vast oceanic planet but there are a few continents and a few remote places where you can set down for awhile. Before you head that way dispatch the brothers and Lt's Judson and Crake back to Utapau with the shuttle; we promised Senator Taneel we'd send them back as soon as possible. In the meantime I'll have the N-1's loaded onto one of the cargo ships and have them meet with you on Wroona. I'll make sure to send some materials to construct some docking clamps or repulsor pads for the fighters as well." Garan explains.

"What about the crews?" Balek asks.

"I'll have Mon Mothma dispatch them to you as well, they can help with the modifications. Once again excellent work Captain, keep at it and you might have my job soon." Garan says with a smile.

"One other thing Major, we have a prisoner. The station captain, when we subdued him and his staff I figured we'd hold on to him in case the clones began to overpower our strike team. What should we do with him, as a Captain I'm sure there some information he has that may be useful to us." Balek says.

"He's on your ship?" Garan asks.

"No but Sogan is looking after him, he's on Xafus' ship."

"Send him here with the shuttle, we'll interrogate him and decide what to do with him then." Garan says.

"Understood Sir, Balek out." he says as he deactivates the comlink on his end. Balek advises Gleim to let the fleet enjoy the rest of their down time then to inform them to set course for Wroona.

"Copy that Captain." Gleim replies.

Balek, Kaeon and Idayk walk back into the hangar bay to try and picture how they can retrofit it for two N-1's. Noticing that when Idayk landed the shuttle it set down just forward of the bay door located on the ship's belly.

"The ships couldn't land on the door but we wanna make sure there's room for two N-1's and still have room for a shuttle or other smaller craft." Balek states.

Kaeon suggests the fighters could be double stacked behind the shuttle placing them over the doors.

"Problem, the N-1's don't have a hyperdrive. So if we're in a fight and the ship is waiting for someone to get aboard the N-1's would have to fly out, let that ship land and fly back in." Balek replies.

"He's right that's too much time when you're trying to escape a fight." Idayk replies. "What about . . ." Idayk hesitates for a moment thinking it wouldn't work but is goaded on by the others to speak his mind. ". . . well there's no way we could refit those fighters with a hyperdrive but . . . " Idayk pauses trying to formulate his thoughts. ". . . if we refitted a few booster rigs to fit the N-1's then they could fly out the bay so another ship could land and follow the corvette into hyperspace."

"That's a great idea but there's no way two booster rigs and the fighters will all fit in here." Kaeon adds.

"He's gotta point, there's no place to keep the booster rigs." Balek says.

Idayk thinks for a moment then snaps his fingers. "I've got it . . . .oh you're gonna love this idea Captain."

Before jumping back into hyperspace Gleim orders Pomek to dock with his corvette on his starboard side.

"Captain Balek stated that the boys have to return to their escort duty. Extend the docking chute and send them on over, Balek's going to give them the shuttle to head back to Utapau." Gleim explains.

Gleim uses the comlink to inform Balek that the pilots are on their way over.

"Good send them back here Gleim and let me know once you've detached from Pomek's corvette."

"Copy." Gleim replies.

With the auto pilot set Gleim flies over to the docking chute just as Zaniel and entourage are emerging from the other corvette. "Head back to the hangar bay boys."

"Good working with you again Gleim." Zaniel says shaking hands with the Toydarian.

Tosch is the last one through the chute and he informs Mayn they are through. The chute closes and Pomek increases the distance between the shuttles.

"Pomek is clear Captain." Gleim says over the comlink. Gleim hops back in the pilot seat and comms the fleet to standby for hyperspace coordinates.

Once Zaniel and crew arrive in the hangar Balek advises them to take the shuttle back to Utapau. "You're going to escort our Imp prisoner back to Utapau. It is imperative that he remains blindfolded and secured at all times. It's also equally important that during your flight back that you all refrain from using names of not only yourselves but locations." Balek explains.

"Understood Sir," Zaniel says. "Where is he?"

"He's on Xafus' ship, when you land in the hangar Sogan will be waiting with him. Once you arrive, grab your fighters and head back to Bespin. The senator should have completed her appointments there and be ready to take a trip to Ryndori." Balek says looking at the brothers. "Zaphael . . ." Balek stops the younger brother and extends his hand. ". . . thanks for helping us out. I hope that when you return home you'll inform your leaders about what we're doing here. Perhaps when they learn firsthand that we're taking a stand against the Empire maybe they'll decide to join us."

They shake hands then Zaph follows his brother up the ramp. Balek and the others walk behind the control room and seal the door to allow the ship to leave. They press the switch to open the bay doors and with the brothers piloting the shuttle lifts of the bay floor and hovers backwards over the open doors. Once clear the shuttle descends out of view, Balek closes the doors and heads back to the bridge.

"Gleim inform Xafus to open his bay doors, the boys are taking the prisoner back to Utapau."

"Copy that Sir." Gleim says.

A few minutes later the brothers pilot the shuttle out of the next corvette with their prisoner secured aboard.

"Alright boys, back to base." Zaniel says as he unfolds the wings downwards. Zaphael lays in the course then initiates the hyperdrive.

* * *

An hour after nightfall on Naboo Loa is setting up his sniper rifle, he scans the area surrounding the house and waits for his opportunity. A few minutes later he sees the human Jedi walk outside towards the small dock on the lake. Loa takes aim through his rifle and zeros in on her head, once he has his shot he pulls the trigger.

As Jori bends down to take her boots off for a swim the blast rings out from the quiet landscape.

"Blast!" Loa says to himself taking aim again.

He fires again but this time the Jedi is ready. She ignites her yellow lightsaber and deflects the bolt. Loa stands up on his knees a bit higher and fires repeatedly. Jori continues to deflect the bolts and once she spots their point of origin she runs and Force jumps to the attacker. She spots the masked figure as he fires again at close range, she blocks another two bolts then slices off the barrel of the rifle.

"You again!" She says shocked that the bounty hunter had survived their encounter on Xagobah.

Loa drops the disabled weapon and draws his dual blasters and fires. Jori continues to block the attacks but doesn't send any back to the assailant as she's curious to find out just who sent him. Jori moves in closer and kicks the assailant in the midsection which causes him to lose his grip on the blaster in his right hand. He's about to fire with the left just as a green blade cuts through it!

"Friend of yours?" Ahsoka says having heard the shots.

"He attacked me on Xagobah, thought I killed him."

Surprised by the other Jedi, Loa grabs a flash grenade from his belt and throws it to the ground just as the Togrutan is about to attack.

"Don't look!" Jori says warning Ahsoka. As the grenade goes off Loa backflips and presses a switch on each wrist clamp.

The girls regain their sight as they see the masked figure's armbands emitting energy shields over his arms!

"He's just full of surprises." Ahsoka says.

The girls attack in unison as Loa blocks their strikes with his shielded arms. He holds a block from Ahsoka as he receives another strike from Jori. He tries to kick the human's kneecap in but misses and hits her upper leg, the blow still sends Jori stumbling as Ahsoka reengages the masked figure but he blocks every one of her attacks. Jori rises to join Ahsoka and Force flips over the Kel-Dor to put him in between the two of them.

Loa continues to hold off the girls but then finds the tip of the yellow lightsaber piercing his helmet as he failed to anticipate her maneuver. The blade cuts just above his right eye and continues down the side of his face slicing through one of his antiox breath tubes. He spots another strike coming from the Togrutan and he blocks it then another from the human with his right arm. He holds the block with his right arm and catches the human with a solid left hook. As she falls stunned by the hit he deflects a series of attacks from the Togrutan. He holds that block as before and deliver a right kick to her head, with both of them momentarily stunned he removes his damaged battle mask. He tosses another flash grenade and makes for his ship. As he runs he spots his other blaster on the ground he picks it up and shoots behind him as he orders Killer to come get him.

Seconds later as the girls rush after him they see the arrowhead shaped ship descending as their attacker boards. The ship flies back over the hill and out of sight from where it came, on board Loa advises the droid to land where they were before. He walks into his equipment locker and grabs a spare antiox mask; he removes the damaged one and fits the new one over his face.

Then he grabs a metallic harness that fits over his neck and right shoulder as well as his waist attaching a heavy gatling blaster cannon to the connector port on the right hip of the harness. After securing the heavy weapon to himself he also grabs a light thermal grenade launcher and clamps it in place underneath the gatling gun. Nearly complete he adds a rectangular piece of metal to the left side of the gun, he switches a button on it which emits another energy shield covering his midsection. Suddenly he hears Killer whistling to him stating the Jedi are coming towards the ship.

"Open the ramp." Loa says loading the heavy weapon.

As Jori and Ahsoka draw near they notice for the first time the heavily armed figure is a Kel-Dor. Loa opens fire as he steps off the ramp, the girls defend themselves as they're showered with blaster bolts.

"Divide and conquer." Ahsoka says.

"What?" Jori asks deflecting more blasts.

"Put him between us again, you go in front and I'll try to get behind him." Ahsoka replies.

As Loa notices them splitting up he fires a thermal grenade towards Ahsoka, she uses a Force shield to protect herself as it blows. Using it as a distraction she makes her way around to the attackers ship. Jori continues her way towards the Kel-Dor as several of the blasts she deflects are caught by the energy shields covering his arms and midsection. She finally becomes fed up with the onslaught and dashes towards the Kel-Dor. He launches a thermal grenade at her but she envelopes it in a Force shield as it explodes. She dashes towards him again and slices through both barrels of his heavy weapon. Loa quickly unhooks the rest of the weapon from the harness and throws it at Jori as he draws his blaster. He fires twice at Jori but then he looks to his left to search for Ahsoka, as he turns his attention back to Jori she slices through his last blaster. A micro second later Ahsoka's green blade protrudes from out his chest! He utters something in his native language and falls to the ground as Ahsoka deactivates her weapon.

"Do you think he was sent by the Empire?" Ahsoka asks.

"Too low profile, he's a bounty hunter. The Empire would be invading with a full blown armada if they knew we were here." Jori says as she turns her attention to the ship. "Although, even bounty hunters have friends. We have to dispose of his ship." Jori says walking up the ramp.

As Killer notices the Jedi boarding he quickly closes the ramp and tries to hold her off with a electric discharge. She deflects the discharge then slices off the mechanical arm protruding from the droid's dome that fires it.

"Don't make me disassemble you!" Jori says as she uses the Force to reopen the ramp.

Ahsoka comes aboard to find the astromech attempting to hold off Jori. She finally becomes fed up with the droid is about to slice him apart when Ahsoka stops her.

"If you trash it we won't be able to find out who sent the Kel-Dor." Ahsoka says as she switches off the droid.

Jori deactivates her blade as she watches Ahsoka disassemble the droid's dome from its body. Before reactivating it again she cuts the power to all the droid's systems except its memory. When she brings the droid back online she asks about the Kel-Dor's employer. The droid resists so Ahsoka, already having access to the droid's primary computer hub deactivates all modified command protocols which should allow the droid to take orders from anyone. She asks the question again and the droid states his master, Loa Katal of planet Dorin, is a freelance bounty hunter and was sent by no one.

"How long he's been tailing us." Jori asks.

Unable to resist with its command protocols disengaged the droid complies informing them that they've been followed since Dantooine.

"We never went to Dantooine?" Ahsoka says curiously.

"I did, before we met. Did Loa see me on Dantooine?" Jori asks.

The droid informs them that Loa was not on Dantooine but a friend of his was and that he informed Loa of the potential bounty. The droid displays a holo image of the Rodian that Jori interrogated on Dantooine.

"That slimy little nerf herder!"

"Well at least the Empire doesn't know we're here, how should we dispose of the ship?" Ahsoka asks. "We could program the droid to take it into the sun."

"I've got a better idea but let's dispose of the body first." Jori says mysteriously.


	23. Excursion to Ryndori

Hours later aboard the Blood Saber Soelin is receiving further reports about the attack on Sluis Van, Duklaa informs him that the surviving clones stated that the attackers were wearing Imperial uniforms.

"They think they were rebels, at least three of the clones stated they saw a Toydarian and a Twi'lek." Duklaa states.

"They were after the corvettes." Soelin theorizes quickly. "How many vessels are unaccounted for?" Duklaa looks at his report then states that at least eight or nine have not been identified.

"We know at least five were destroyed and another two that were docked on the opposite wing were damaged by redundant explosions or debris. Surprisingly enough the opposite wing survived the blast. They must not have used a very big charge." Duklaa states.

"It was to cover their escape." Soelin replies. "So the rebels are starting to build a fleet."

"Even nine of those corvettes couldn't bring down a Venator class Star Destroyer!" Duklaa adds.

"True but they are getting organized and growing by the month." Soelin paces for a few moments then asks if there's been any sight of the Arawak or the Chandrilan shuttle that escaped Agamar.

Duklaa informs him there has not but that they've sent out long range combat shuttles to try and track them.

"Thus far there's been no sign of them or the fighter unit we sent after them." Duklaa replies.

"Dispatch probe droids along their last known trajectory, I'm convinced that these two ships are loyal to the rebel cause."

"Yes Admiral, I will do so at once."

* * *

After entering the planet Wroona Balek begins scanning for the most remote places to set down the fleet. He finds an island near the equator that is suitable enough and has Gleim inform the fleet.

"Make sure they know not to land too close to one another, we'll begin the modifications once the cargo ship arrives." Kaeon says to Gleim.

Shortly thereafter all eight corvettes land on the island and begin debarking, Balek follows Idayk to the port side of their corvette as he explains his idea.

"I can see how this will work but it may take awhile to refit the ships as your suggesting." Balek says.

"No it won't Captain, besides we're getting reinforcements from Chandrila right . . .we'll get it done." Idayk replies.

"I still don't see how you propose to haul the booster rigs for the fighters." Kaeon asks.

Idayk points to the row of four escape pods, each ship has a compliment of eight with four on each side. Idayk explains how they can remove the aft pod on each side, seal up the access hatch then refit the pod clamps and launch mechanism to jettison a booster rig instead.

"Those rigs are about the same width as those pods, it'll be perfect. If the fighters have to clear out of the hangar to accommodate an escape pod or what not; then the bridge jettisons the booster rigs and the fighters can follow on their own into hyperspace."

"That is a good idea, of course you realize by removing two of the pods that those other six will be cramped if they have to launch. Depending on how big of a crew is serving aboard when it happens" Balek adds.

"Eh, you have to pick your battles Captain." Idayk replies.

"Apparently so, we'll get to work on it as soon as our support gets here."

* * *

Several hours later Zaniel and crew, who are back in their own fighters, have just come out of lightspeed over Bespin. Zaniel leads the way and once they receive permission, the foursome lands their ships on the platform next to the Senator's shuttle. They are greeted by one of her bodyguards and escorted into the same living area where they last saw the senator. She greets them ecstatically glad that none of them were hurt during Garan's mission, after shaking hands with all of them and thanking them for their assistance to Garan she asks them all to sit.

"I've heard that we've gained several attack vessels."

"That's correct senator, I don't think the mission could have gone any smoother." Zaniel says.

"Good, now that you're all back I would greatly like to get underway. Zaphael if you would please contact yours leaders on Ryndori and inform them we will leave tonight." Taneel states.

"Yes milady." Zaphael replies.

"After that you all are welcome to take a few hours to get yourselves refreshed and ready to go."

As Taneel stands to return to her stateroom Zaphael goes back to his T-55 to send a message to Commander Kesaro. He informs him of the success of their mission and that the Alliance acquired several ships for their cause against the Empire. Kesaro is surprised that no rebel was killed during the siege.

"This Major Garan must be a great strategist to pull off such a successful mission." Kesaro says wondering what himself and Garan could accomplish if they were working together.

Zaphael informs him that Garan planned the mission but his executive officer led the raid.

"I assume then then Senator is ready to meet with us?"

"Yes Commander, we just now arrived back here. She informed me that she was able to push back her next appointment and we will be ready to leave by nightfall." Zaphael explains.

"Good, we will be expecting her." Kesaro replies.

* * *

At the same time on Wroona both the cargo ship and the new rebel crews have arrived and begun work on the first corvette. Balek contacted Colonel Rieekan once they had landed and requested sixteen hyperspace booster rigs for the N-1's. Rieekan was surprised by the unusual request but advised that he'd find a way to get them sent to Wroona. However he informed since no booster rig has ever been built for an N-1 fighter he'd would likely send rigs designed for the Jedi fighters used during the war. Balek informed him that's just another in a series of modifications they planned to make.

"We'll get it done, just send them our way Colonel, Balek out."

Once the holoprojector was deactivated Balek walks over to the corvette nearest him, which was also the one they were starting the modifications on. Since Idayk didn't quite know how it was all going to work they figured there was no sense modifying all eight at once.

Balek finds Idayk standing in the hangar bay along with Kaeon and several others helping to bring his idea to life. What he and the others have assembled is a double stacked set of clamps similar to those on the booster rigs. He explains to Balek that when the ship flies up into the bay the arms will extend and catch the ship in its midsection. At the same time a small walkway is extended from the starboard side so the pilot and droid can exit the ship and make their way to the control room and then the rest of the ship.

"We're almost ready for our first test." Idayk says grabbing a control box which is connected by a cable running to the control room. He asks everyone to clear the bay for the demonstration. Idayk stands where the shuttle had once set down as he flips a switch, suddenly two cranes extend from both sides of the bay and come to rest in the middle where the N-1's will be positioned. Seeing that they've extended successfully Idayk flips the reverse switch and they retract back into their folded position which leave plenty of room for another ship to set down inside the bay. "Alright, now we're ready. Lt Sogan." Idayk yells.

Sogan comes into view as he walks under the ship. "I need you and your best pilot in your fighters and ready to follow us out of the atmosphere."

"Copy that." Sogan says running to do as requested.

"Captain would you like to accompany me on board?" Idayk asks.

"He sure gets excited when his mind gets going." Balek says to Kaeon.

Balek then notices Gleim and Xafus nearby and asks if they will pilot the ship, they happily agree and follow them aboard.

A few minutes later the corvette, recently named Pride of the Jedi, takes off with Sogan and his wingman following. Once outside the atmosphere Idayk, Balek and the others make their way to the control room in the hangar bay. They seal themselves from the bay and open the doors, Idayk then raises Sogan on his comlink and instructs him alone to fly into the bay.

"Once your in position I'll extend the arms to grab the ship, then you can shut down your engines." Idayk says as he takes the controls which he installed into the control room before taking off.

"I'm almost there." Sogan says over the comlink.

"Nice and easy." Idayk replies.

A second or two later they see the black N-1 ascending into the bay. Idayk flips the switch to extend only the bottom set of arms as Sogan keeps the ship hovering in its position. The arms reach out and with the padded clamps they gently take hold of the fighter, Sogan feeling the grasp of the arms shuts down his engines.

Idayk looks at his comrades and says, "And that's how its done." He closes the bay doors then extends the ramp to allow Sogan and his droid to get out.

Knowing they've got to test it with both fighters Sogan doesn't exit the ship but he opens the canopy as the four officers walk over.

"Any problems getting into position?" Idayk asks kneeling down next to the cockpit.

"Not at all, once those arms grabbed on it feels real snug and secure." Sogan replies.

"Good, well in a sec we're gonna let you exit the ship then you and your wingman will do it together. You can take the top rack." Idayk says.

"Let's do it!" Sogan says closing his canopy.

They walk back into the control room then open the bay doors. Idayk advises him to give his repulsors just a bit of power before he releases the clamps. The docking procedure goes just as smoothly as in reverse as Sogan descends back out into space, he comms his wingman and informs him of the next test.

"Okay anytime you're ready, wait 'til Lt Sogan is secured before you come in." Idayk says to the wingman over the comlink.

Moments later Sogan's ship is secured in the top set of clamps just as the second fighter ascends and is secured just as quickly. Idayk closes the bay doors then extends the walkways. Both pilots exit their ships and take the short walkway to the starboard side of the ship to a set of stairs which brings them to the ground floor of the bay. Balek and the others applaud Idayk for his work as they walk out of the control booth to meet the pilots.

"Now we just have to refit the booster rigs for an escape pod jettison." Idayk states.]

"Well the rigs won't be here for a few days but we can get the other seven corvettes fitted for docking like this one. Hopefully by that time the rigs will be here." Balek says leading the way back to the cockpit. "Gleim, take us back to the island."

Once they land everyone examines the two docked starfighters inside the corvette's belly. Balek informs everyone that after a celebratory dinner they'll need to begin work on the remaining corvettes. Almost two hundred people of various species and occupations arrived in the transport; from engineers, pilots, troopers and med techs. Along with more tools and supplies they brought food and several crates full of temporary shelters to use through the duration of the renovations to the corvettes. Of course the rebels who took part in the siege on Sluis Van are granted quarters on board the corvettes. They have a large feast that night as Balek reports their progress on the modifications to Major Garan.

"Idayk took charge of everything, we've tested docking procedures on both clamps and the starfighters are sitting in there right now." Balek says over the comm.

"Excellent work Captain." Garan replies.

"Don't give me the credit Sir, I haven't done much since we arrived here. It's Idayk you should thank." Balek replies.

"Then I will make a point to do so when I see him, let him continue to take the lead on the renovations and keep me posted Captain."

"Yes Sir, Balek out."

* * *

A few hours later on Bespin Zaniel is strapping into the cockpit of his fighter as the senator boards her shuttle. The foursome of fighters lift off and await for the shuttle to follow. As they fly out of Cloud City an Imperial probe droid recognizes the ship and sends a message back to the Blood Saber. Once the convoy is out of the atmosphere Zaphael has his droid send hyperspace coordinates for Ryndori.

Sometime later the shuttle and its escort arrive and descend towards the bluish planet, Zaphael informs the air base of their arrival and are given coordinates to land. Kesaro walks out to the landing grid to meet them just as Senator Taneel is debarking the shuttle.

"Greetings milady . . ." Kesaro says bowing and taking her hand. ". . . .it is an honor to meet you. I hope your stay on Ryndori is pleasant and our business fruitful." Kesaro says.

"I'm am honored as well." Taneel replies. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

Kesaro escorts Taneel to a speeder towing an open seat tram and helps her into the cabin of the speeder which is enclosed as her bodyguards, handmaidens and the pilots take a seat on the tram.

"I'm glad to be here, I've never heard of Ryndori until I met Zaphael a few days ago. He told me Ryndori was not a part of the Republic, nor part of the Empire, but I'm surprised that the Clone Wars didn't reach your borders. There were so many neutral, peaceful planets that were pulled into the war and had no choice but to fight to defend their homes." Taneel states.

"That's exactly why we took measures to enhance our military forces, Ryndori will be ready to defend herself if necessary but we still wish to remain neutral. I'm glad to have you here Senator but I'm not sure our Prime Minister will agree to any such alliance. At least not one that has already taken military action against the Empire." Kesaro adds.

"I understand completely, I am not here to persuade you to do anything you're not ready for. I am just here to open talks with your government, to know that Ryndori's interests are the same as ours. However you do have me at a disadvantage, already knowing that I secretly represent such a resistance movement could be potentially dangerous, to both parties."

"I assure you Senator that your visit will be kept in the strictest confidence. Aside from _our_ Lt. Brath," Kesaro says referring to Zaphael. "and myself, no one but the Prime Minister and his staff will know of the true reason for your visit, much less the visit itself."

"I appreciate that Commander, I hope this little side trip from my itinerary will not be in vain. If Ryndori offers support in any capacity whether that be supplies, funds, ships or even just to provide safe harbor for rebel personnel from time to time we would greatly appreciate it." Taneel states. "I wish this conflict would end just as much as you and your people do but we seemed to have passed the point where negotiation and even democracy do not serve our purposes anymore."

Kesaro thinks about her words for a moment wondering if they resorted to action too quickly.

"Any yet it has only been what, only five months since the formation of the Empire?" Seeing the Senator's somber expression Kesaro regrets his tone. "My apologies milady, I did not mean to paint your people as some kind of extremists group."

"I understand it does seem soon to take such action, however as your planet was not part of the Republic you don't have the firsthand knowledge of the downfall of our government during the Clone Wars." Taneel explains. "We had many Senators vie constantly for peace, to stop the war and let diplomacy resume. But it is evident now that larger forces were at play that didn't want to see the war end; some of which could have been orchestrated by Palpatine himself."

Hearing it from her perspective, from one who obviously fought on the side of democracy and peace Kesaro abandons his earlier thought. Perhaps the time for action is upon them, maybe upon Ryndori too.

"I don't mean to put a damper on the occasion, I'd love to see more of your planet." Taneel adds.

"I'd be happy to arrange a tour for later this afternoon." Kesaro offers.

"That would be lovely."

Back in the tram Zaniel asks his brother if he thinks now they'll join the Alliance since the events of the Sluis Van siege.

"I don't know, after telling them what we accomplished I'd be surprised if they didn't at least offer some kind of neutral support." Zaphael says with the wind blowing his hair in several directions.

"Neutral support?" Zaniel says curiously.

"The Prime Minister might want to stay out of the fight but may be willing to volunteer money or supplies and what not. I hope we join, with our fighters and your corvettes, we've got the makings of a fleet." Zaphael says.

"Just the makings Zaph, we don't have any capital ships yet and you haven't even seen a Venator class cruiser up close yet." Zaniel replies. "It would tear those corvettes to pieces."

"Then why steal them?"

"Well for one it would be near impossible to steal a Venator but more specifically I would assume to be used as reconnaissance ships. They could serve other functions sure but that would be my first guess." Zaniel says then asking if Ryndori doesn't get involved will he join the alliance on his own.

Zaphael thinks about it for a moment but cannot give his brother an answer. "I honestly don't know."

When the speeder arrives Kesaro escorts the senator to a luxurious sweet designated for her stay. He informs her that she will be meeting the Prime Minister and his staff in two hours for refreshments and introductions before they officially open talks, also that the Brath brothers are requested to be there as well.

"I will see that your men are all accommodated with quarters for the duration of your stay. I will be back to collect you in two hours." Kesaro says shutting the door behind him.


	24. Birth of a Fleet

The next day the shipment of booster rigs arrives on Wroona by automated transport, once they were unloaded the computer pilot was sent to move about his business. Kaeon and the others wondered why Rieekan would send a automated pilot system to deliver the rigs. Balek had the answer and stated it was so no would become suspicious and report their location.

Idayk begins to inspect the rigs, while most are all painted different he realizes they are all designed for the first series of the Jedi Interceptors. He finds several crates next to the rigs and opens them, inside he finds several templates for the clamps which lock a fighter into place. He notices several of different shapes, realizing he can use these as a model for the N-1's he orders some of the rebels to begin unloading them all.

"Have all the corvettes been fitting with the docking clamps yet?" he asks.

"The last one is being worked on now." Kaeon replies.

"Good leave the fighters on the ground, where is the Captain?" Kaeon informs him that Balek retired to a cabin on board one of the corvettes.

"It's all you buddy, what do you need?" Kaeon asks offering his help.

The two friends along with several other rebels begin setting up one of the boosters for fitting on an N-1. With only two fighters left on the ground Idayk orders to get it raised with the hydraulic jacks. Moments later one of the jacks raises up the N-1 as the other is positioned under the rig. Idayk and the others go to work removing the clamps on the diameter of the ring, An hour later they're able to successfully dock the N-1 to the booster rig using a customized clamp template. As Idayk gives the order to begin work on the rest of the rigs, Kaeon synchronizes the navicomputer from the fighter to the rig as well as an astromech droid.

Although Kaeon would like to take the ship up and make a quick test jump he knows there's no way to get the booster rig out of the atmosphere with the fighter alone. Due to its weight in an atmosphere they will have to wait until the Corvettes can haul the rig into space to run the test.

"Okay let's get a few crews assembled to continue work on the rest of the boosters; we've gotta start rigging the corvettes to store them." Idayk says.

Idayk begins to gives instructions to the individual repair crews how to refit the rigs.

"Lets get this one off the fighter and we'll get started with the escape pod clamp. I'll need another set of hydraulics to remove the pod." Idayk explains.

"I'm on it, so what do you intend to do with all the pods that we're taking out?" Kaeon asks.

"Not sure yet, one idea I had was to insert them into the rock wall of the sinkhole back on Utapau."

"What for?" Kaeon replies.

"We'll we could refit the controls to maneuver a heavy blaster cannon or rocket launcher." Idayk explains.

"Blaster turrets? You're just full of ideas aren't you." Keaon adds.

"I have my moments." Idayk says smiling.

Moments later two hydraulics jacks are prepared to lower the escape pod from the ship. Idayk and Kaeon walk to the aft pod on the port side and open the hatch and use the comlink to let Gleim, Xafus and Cyprus down below that he's going to release the clamp on the pod.

"I've cut the power to the jettison mechanism for the moment so it should slide right out." Idayk states.

"Copy that, anytime." Gleim says holding the remote for the hydraulic.

Idayk flips the switch and the pod slides out about two feet into the waiting grasp of the robotic like arms. Gleim lowers the arms then using the remote for the treads on the bottom of the platform backs up several yards and puts the pod on the ground. Idayk and Kaeon inspect the clamp mechanism on the outside of the ship as they lean out the open hatch. Idayk quickly realizes that the width of the pod clamps are not the same width of the booster rig. He asks a nearby astromech to double check the measurements, the astromech calculates the information and replies that ring is just a few inches too wide. Idayk looks over the clamps again then realizes that they can be adjusted to fit, he asks the droid to board the ship and plug into the ship's main terminal. Moments later the droid still on the bridge moves the clamps in different directions.

"Okay stop for a moment L6, Gleim grab the rig." Idayk says.

Gleim uses the hydraulics to pickup the nearby booster rig and position it near the ejection port where the pod was. He works in tandem with Gleim and L6 to fit the booster rig safely within the clamps. Then with L6's help he ensures that the jettison mechanism will link up and push the rig out when necessary. Seeing that everything is starting to come together he asks Gleim, Xafus and Mayn to come aboard for a test.

"We'll take her up and see how it works." Idayk says.

"Before we do we need to reinforce this hatch," Kaeon says regarding the former access hatch to the pod. ". . . since no one will be going through it we need to seal it up tight."

About an hour later the corvette returns back to the island after a successful test, Idayk flew the fighter as the booster rig was jettisoned once he left the hangar bay. Unlike the escape pods that have the controls to jettison, Idayk and the others reworked the jettison mechanism to be fired from the bay control room. The group debarks the shuttle as Idayk yawns heavily.

"When is the last time you got any sleep?" Kaeon asks.

Idayk informs him it was before they met up with Kyler on the Vindicator.

"Why don't you get some rest, I can supervise the work on the rest of the ship and Nkard can help me." Kaeon says as he notices their comrade who has just returned from some rack time.

"Are you sure?" Idayk says yawning again.

"Yes go, you've gotten the templates done so all we need to do is finish what you started." Kaeon urges.

"Alright, thanks guys." Idayk replies.

* * *

Shortly before going to collect the senator, Commander Kesaro informs Lt. Brath and that he will not be present during the conference with the prime minister tomorrow. Zaphael is surprised but quickly assumes that the commander is going to take delivery of the next shipment of T-55's.

"That's correct, another seventy-five are ready. The transport will drop us off so we can fly the fighters back ourselves." Kesaro states. "You and your brother are to accompany the senator when she meets with the Prime Minister. They'll want to debrief you themselves anyway."

"Yes of course Sir." Zaphael replies.

"Of course they just want a meet and greet with the Senator today, official talks and your debrief will be on their docket for tomorrow."

"What about her other escort pilots, are they to come as well?" Zaphael asks.

"No, just your brother. It's his connection to you and the Senator which was why they requested his presence. I'm going to collect her in just a moment, grab your brother and meet me at council gardens in ten minutes and make sure you both are in uniform." Kesaro orders.

"Uh Sir, I don't think my brother has a uniform with him since he's been flying escort for the Senator." Zaphael replies.

"Of course, he can wear civilian clothing I suppose just make sure he looks sharp."

"Understood."

Taneel's handmaiden answers the door when they hear the chime sound and find Commander Kesaro and another officer waiting on the other side.

"Milady if you are ready I will escort you to the council gardens." Kesaro says.

As Taneel takes his proffered arm he introduces her to the officer at his side.

"This is Lt. Cale Webt, I have placed him in charge of your security throughout your visit. I regret to inform you milady that I will not be able to serve as your escort from this point on. I have business that requires my attention off-world."

"I assume this would have something to do with the fighters Ryndori has been building?" Taneel says as they walk through the halls.

"Very astute Senator. Yes indeed, the next installment is ready for delivery. But fear not, i have arranged that tour for you and your entourage after your meeting at the gardens. The Lieutenatn has agreed to serve as your escort, just let him know when you're ready to leave."

"Thank you for your courtesy Commander." Taneel replies.

When they arrive at the council gardens Kesaro introduces Senator Taneel to the Prime Minister, Consul Lamara Harke and the rest the council then takes his leave apologizing once again that he cannot stay.

As he turns to leave he sees the brothers entering the gardens. While Zaphael is wearing his dress uniform he notices that Zaniel is wearing a suit in the style of the mountain village of Rhewi, likely borrowed from Zaphael knowing he has roots there.

"Gentlemen." Kesaro says then looks at Zaniel. "Nice suit."

"Oh thank you Commander."

"You know I bet if you showed up at our mother's front door in that suit she wouldn't even know it was you." Zaphael says.

"Speaking of that, the first chance we get I want you to take me to see her."

"Of course but that depends on your Senator's schedule doesn't it?"

"Good point." Zaniel says as he walks over to the Senator.

"Well look at you, you clean up nice Lieutenant." Taneel says.

"Thank you, it's my brother's. Speaking of which when you have the time I've something I need to ask of you."

"Of course, Commander Kesaro has arranged a tour of the city for me after this function is over, how about after I return?"

"That would be fine, thank you milady."

Meanwhile Kesaro makes a quick stop to his quarters to retrieve his flight suit then walks to the landing grid to board the unmarked transport. Once loaded the transport takes off bound for Fresia.

* * *

Back on Wroona Idayk emerges from one of the cabins to see that most of the corvettes have all been completed. However then he notices something not associated with his previous ideas. He walks off the boarding ramp as he spots the forward escape pod on each side being fitted with a heavy blaster cannon.

"How long was I out?" he says as he notices Captain Balek walking towards him.

"About twelve hours buddy, Kaeon told me about your idea to turn the unused pods into blaster turrets for the sinkhole base so I thought we could apply the same idea and refit the forward pods. We cut the power to the jettison mechanism and refitted the flight controls to work the cannon; this way the corvettes will have a little more firepower." Balek explains. "The last corvette is being fitted to store the booster rigs and we only have three more rigs to repaint."

Once the modifications were completed Kaeon had ordered all the rigs to be repainted to match the matte black N-1's. Idayk, still amazed that so much of work was done while he was asleep, asks if they know what assignments have been given to the fleet yet. Balek informs him that the Pride of the Jedi was ordered back to Utapau first.

"We have to drop off Gleim and his team so they can pick up their ships, they have another load of shipment of supplies to pick up." Balek informs.

"Well I like what you've done but it cuts the escape load on each ship in half!" Idayk states.

"True but right now as it stands each corvette will only have a crew of about twenty to twenty-five. Minus the two pilots who will be able to escape in their fighters, there will be plenty of room in the pods." Balek says reassuringly. "Plus Major Garan talked of finding us some small shuttle craft for away missions or what not; that Imperial shuttle just barely fit inside but if there's a smaller ship inside they can escape quickly it can hold any personnel that can't make it to an escape pod."

"That's a good idea, sounds like you guys have had things well under control."

"Hey you led the way for us, you did a great job Lieutenant." Balek replies.

Two hours later the modifications are finally completed, Gleim and team use the hydraulic jacks to pick up and store the sixteen escape pods onto the cargo ship for transport back to Utapau. As Balek reports in to Garan he is given crew assignments for the corvettes as well as rendezvous coordinates. Balek is surprised when he is given command of the Pride of the Jedi along with Kaeon who is promoted to Commander to serve as his executive officer.

"What about Nkard and Idayk?" Balek asks about his other two comrades.

Garan informs him that Nkard has been promoted as well and has been assigned to the Kessel Runner as executive officer.

"Idayk however is needed back on Utapau for the time being." Garan explains.

"So we're splitting up then." Balek says not very pleased that he won't see his comrades on a normal basis anymore.

"We're in a war Captain, we all have to do what's requested of us." Garan replies.

"I understand Sir, the Pride of the Jedi will be ready to launch in an hour then we'll head your way." Balek replies.

Once Balek gives out ship assignments and rendezvous coordinates he orders the cargo ship pilot to head for Utapau. With most of the rebels who arrived with transport now assigned to a corvette he dispatches the transport back to Chandrila. He then boards the Pride of the Jedi where Kaeon already has the pilots warming up the engines.

"Let's get underway." Balek says stepping onto the bridge. He takes one of the two jump seats behind the newly assigned pilots as Kaeon takes the other. He then asks the pilot to open a channel to the fleet.

"You've all done a great job, good luck on your current assignments." Balek then asks to open a private channel to Nkard just as Idayk walks into the bridge. "I tried to get you assigned with me but I guess it won't work out that way."

"It's okay Captain, I'm sure we'll meet again." Nkard replies.

"It has been an honor serving with you; may the Force be with you." Balek adds shortly before the Pride of the Jedi enters hyperspace.


	25. Galvanizing Allies

Having received a message from a probe droid on Bespin Major Mepone contacts the Nu-class combat cruiser that was sent to look for their missing fighter group. The clone pilot answers the hail from the Blood Saber and reports there is no sight of the missing Arc-170's. Mepone informs them a probe spotted the Chandrilan shuttle leaving Bespin and orders them to search the shortest flight path from Bespin to the last known location of the missing 170's.

"Report it's location immediately if you come across it, do not take action against it without approval from myself or Admiral Soelin." Mepone orders.

"Yes Sir." the clone pilot replies.

Major Duklaa walks over and asks if he's going to report the sighting to the admiral. "There's no sense in interrupting his dinner if we haven't captured them yet now is there?" Mepone replies.

"Of course, your right Sir." Duklaa replies.

* * *

Shortly after the corvette lands Gleim and team are given coordinates on Mon Calamari to pickup another load of medical supplies as well as hover beds for the med center. Garan informs them all five ships are required to retrieve the load and that the Mon Cals have donated this shipment for the rebel cause.

"We've just received word that the Mon Cals are endeavoring to begin construction on a fleet of heavy cruisers for the Rebellion." Garan says.

"Capital ships? Gleim replies. "Wow things are moving in high gear aren't they."

"Yes but the first vessel won't be completed for close to four years. We still a long way away from having our own fleet. The corvettes are a step in the right direction but we're still years away from going head to head against the Imperial fleet." Garan adds.

"We'll just take it day by day Major."

"That's right, good luck Gleim." Garan says.

Gleim and Xafus hop in the Arawak as his team loads into their own freighters. Moments later the ships are ascending out of the sinkhole.

Once the weapons stolen from Sluis Van are organized and issued equally between the corvettes and the base Garan orders Balek to take the Pride of the Jedi to Chandrila.

"I want you to orbit the nearest moon for any Imperial activity, I wouldn't been surprised if an Imperial Star Destroyer shows up soon." Garan explains.

"Guard duty?" Balek says curiously.

"For the moment, Mon Mothma was a member of the Delegation of 2000. I'm worried that Palpatine will look to her first as being responsible for the Sluis Van attack. I want the Pride of the Jedi there to keep an eye on the planet. I've already consulted with Colonel Rieekan and he agrees. In the meantime I'm going to see if he can find out through our spies who the Empire suspects is behind the attack." Garan explains.

"I understand Sir, we'll leave immediately." Balek replies.

Once the escape pods are unloaded Idayk begins to decide the placement among the lower levels of the sinkhole. Once the positions are decided upon he requisitions some battle droids to draw several heavy blaster cannons and rocket launchers from the armory. As they stack the weapons in a pile near the pods Idayk along with several other volunteers begin stripping the pod of its instrument consoles, fuel, remaining seats and anything else that will be unnecessary for the turret. They remove the viewport next to work on refitting the cannon to work via the flight control stick inside the pod, then four of the pods are fitted with the rocket launchers. Once they are all completed Idayk has the droids place them at their designated spot, each one is bolted into place around the sinkhole.

Once he receives word they were completed Garan comes out to meet Idayk and admires his ingenuity. Along with the sparsely placed AAT droid tanks and vulture fighters the sinkhole appears well defended against any attack.

"Well done Lt, you deserve some well earned down time."

"Thank you Major, am I to be assigned to one of the corvettes?" Idayk asks.

"I haven't decided yet, I think your talents would be beneficial elsewhere." Garan replies.

"Thank you for the compliment Sir." Idayk replies.

* * *

The next day as the Ryndorian council and Senator Taneel open talks of possible a possible alliance the Prime Minister calls on Zaphael to report his account of his rumored mission against the Empire. Zaphael stands and explains everything he witnessed from the detailed and tedious planning the rebel officers went through as well as the smooth execution of the operation. Once Zaphael is dismissed he retakes his seat and Taneel stands to address the leaders of their struggle against the Empire.

By her third meeting that day with Ryndori's Prime Minister Taneel had begun to feel as if she was getting nowhere. She'd considered leaving the planet early to resume her trip through the outer rim but near the end of the third hour on this day she finally reached deep down and struck a blow against the Ryndorian leader that she'd regretted the moment the words left her mouth!

"Peace isn't just the absence of violence, it's the presence of justice!" While she regretted her tone more than the words she pounced on the moment seeing that the Prime Minister and his council seemed to have their eyes opened. "We must restore the Republic to its former state before the Clone Wars, even if we have to march into the senate and overthrow Palpatine. However as you and I both know that's not possible without action. His Imperial troops will slaughter any insurrection aimed at taking down his Empire." Taneel states. She pauses as she watches the council exchange whispers and glances. "We're not asking you to put all your resources into a head to head attack, at this point we'd lose and we know it but we are building. At this time we just want to know that your ideals match ours, that you understand the cause; there will come a time though when we may need your support, supplies and military forces to join ours." Taneel explains.

The Prime Minister asks the Senator to excuse herself while he convenes with his council. Zaniel escorts Taneel out but Zaphael requests permission to stay. The Prime Minister grants the request as Taneel exits the chamber.

For the next hour Zaphael pleads his case for Ryndori to join the alliance in at least some capacity. With his long lost brother already a part of the rebellion Zaphael is torn between remaining on his home planet or joining the alliance on his own.

"It seems you've already made up your mind to join their cause." the Prime Minister states.

"I love Ryndori, it's home and if it needs me I will be here to defend it however I want to serve by my brother's side. I know you don't want to get involved in a conflict which we had no hand in starting but that won't matter to the Empire. They could decide to just march on Faspen City tomorrow and take us over. They won't care if we were apart of the Republic or not; if they see us as a threat they'll attack." Zaphael says.

"Maybe it was a mistake meeting with the Senator, just by associating with the Rebellion we may have already endangered ourselves." States the Prime Minister.

"Sir with all due respect if you're going to follow that line of thinking you would have to agree that increasing our defensive capabilities would have put us in the same danger." Consul Harke states. "I for one believe Senator Taneel's concerns about the Empire are valid, it appears her people have only recently begun to take action and only because they feel they've been driven to that point."

"Sir if we're lucky the Alliance may never call on us for military action but we need to support them however we can with whatever they need." Zaphael adds. "Be it ships or supplies or money or volunteers, they need our help." Zaphael pauses for a long moment. "I don't want to fight anymore than you do but I've been trained to. They need people to fly ships, to fight, to train and lead others . . . and I've decided to volunteer my services to them." Zaphael says as he removes the ribbons from his uniform, he places them on the podium then excuses himself from the chamber.

Zaniel immediately notices the missing ribbons from his brother's uniform as he walks over to Senator Taneel.

"Senator, I don't think Ryndori will join your cause but as you are a representative of the Rebellion I would like to formally join up." Zaphael says bowing.

Surprised by the gesture Taneel welcomes him gladly and thanks him for his sacrifice.

"My service is yours on one condition."

"Which is?" Taneel asks.

"Wherever myself or Zaniel are needed, we stay together." Zaphael states.

"I am sure that can be arranged, welcome to the Alliance Zaphael Brath." Taneel replies.

Moments later one of the council members walks through the door and informs the Senator the council is ready for her again. The brothers escort her in and take their positions on either side. The Prime Minister begins to state how they agree with their cause they're not sure if it is the same as Ryndori's. Taneel immediately realizes the planet's leader is beating around the bush but listens respectfully anyway.

"I'm sure Lt. Brath already told you he's volunteered to join your alliance?"

"He has." Taneel replies.

"While myself and my advisors do not believe that Ryndori should get involved the words of one of our own speaks volumes. I've decided that Ryndori will join your rebellion against the Empire but as a silent partner only, for the time being. We would be honored to host alliance personnel or supply you with whatever you need with the exception of military weapons." The Prime Minister states. "As for Lt. Brath, we cannot release him from his duty to Ryndori . . . ." Zaphael's brow furrows not liking this turn of events. ". . . . however we have agreed to allow him to volunteer his services to the Alliance as a representative of Ryndori."

Zaphael's facial expression changes immediately. Both he and Taneel express their gratitude.

"We've taken a great step towards the revival of the Republic, our leaders and I truly thank you for your support."

"Your welcome, Commander Kesaro will be your contact whenever you need to call on Ryndori, in his absence you may reach out to Consul Harke." the Prime Minister says shortly before he and his staff adjourn.

Later that evening Taneel reports to Mon Mothma of her success with the Ryndorian government, she finds Colonel Rieekan is with her as the image appears on the holoprojector. She also informs them of Lt. Zaphael Brath's allegiance to the rebellion so long as the brothers serve together wherever their orders may take them. Rieekan makes a note of the stipulation as he begins to inform the senator that she have been tracked from Agamar.

"Our spy on board the Vindicator informed me on his last check in that he was recently in contact with the Blood Saber. He learned that the Vindicator was ordered to remain in the Albarrio sector while the Blood Saber continues to track down missing Jedi as well as a Chandrilan marked shuttle that escape Agamar a few days ago, they suspect the Jedi might have been aboard." Rieekan explains. "I'm glad your negotiations on Ryndori were productive but you must leave immediately."

"Yes of course, I'd never forgive myself if my being here led the Empire to this planet. It could undo what little progress I've just made; they've pledged some support but they're not ready to fight alongside us just yet, we will leave as soon as possible." Taneel states. As soon as the image disappears she orders her bodyguard to ready her ship and summon the Brath brothers. Moments later Zaniel and Zaphael arrive at her quarters surprised that they're off so soon.

"Is everything alright milady?" Zaniel asks.

"No, I don't wish to alarm Ryndori but the Empire may have been tracking us ever since we left Agamar." Taneel explains.

"Sithspawn!" Zaphael replies. "I have to tell the Prime Minister."

"No, Zaphael please wait. They may not have followed us here, besides they suspect that the ship is piloted by two Jedi. We did help them escape Agamar but as long as we leave immediately there should be no cause for concern. I don't wish to alarm your leaders if there's no credible reason to." Taneel replies.

While he doesn't like the idea he agrees to remain silent for the time being. "Alright but I would like to request updates on the situation as soon as their available, I was assigned as your attache to Ryndori."

"Of course Zapheal, you'll have them. Ready your fighters boys, we're leaving."

Seeing the downcast look on Zaniel's face Taneel suddenly remembers the request he made of her last night, and what her orders mean taking from him.

"I'm sorry Zaniel, you're reunion with your mother will have to wait."

"I understand milady." Zaniel replies as they run to carry out her orders.

As the brothers leave Taneel opens her comlink to reach Consul Harke. She informs Harke that while she hadn't planned to leave until morning urgent news require her presence elsewhere.

Within thirty minutes the brothers are back in their fighters preparing for take off. As Zaniel puts on his helmet he hears his brother's voice crackle over the comm.

"I'm sorry Zaniel, I know how much you wanted to meet her." Zaphael says noticing his brother had not said a word since they left the Senator's quarters.

"Well, I still plan to." Zaniel says priming the engines. "Let's go."

Once in space the escort, now permanently increased to four, receives hyperspace coordinates from the shuttle to Praesitlyn.


	26. Eek, a Mouse Droid!

After patrolling the shortest course from Bespin to the coordinates where the Arc-170's went missing; the Nu-class combat shuttle reports back to the Blood Saber with no results. They do inform the ship that there is a small unknown planet in sight from where the 170's last reported in. Soelin who is on the bridge when the report comes in asks the pilot if he can identify the planet. The pilot double checks his star charts but replies that he cannot identify it.

"It's just inside the unknown regions of the galaxy Admiral, I don't think it was part of the Republic." the clone pilots states.

As Soelin takes a moment to decide his next move the communications officer informs him that the shuttle is critically low on fuel. Soelin orders the pilot to transmit the coordinates the of this unknown planet Blood Saber and return to the ship.

"We'll dispatch another recon team to take your place out there." Soelin says over the comm.

"Yes Sir, we're on our way." the clone replies.

"I want more reconnaissance on this planet, any activity is to be reported to me immediately." Soelin orders.

* * *

Within her first day on Praesitlyn Senator Taneel can identify no discord towards the Empire from the planet's ambassador. She had hoped that since the world was occupied by the Separatists during the latter years of the Clone Wars its representatives might bear the same aversion to the Empire as they did the Separatists. However once she realized how blinded they were by the Empire's apparent "defeat" of the Confederacy of Independent Systems she knew there would be no possibility of alliance with this world, at least at this time.

As she returns to her quarters with her handmaiden as she hears her comlink going off, once in the privacy of her room she activates it to find the images of Mon Mothma, Colonel Rieekan and Major Garan.

"Senator I'm glad we reached you, we've just learned that the Blood Saber has a recon shuttle searching for your ship." Rieekan states.

"Tell me they haven't found Ryndori?" Taneel asks.

"The last we heard they were near that sector just outside the unknown regions but thus far they've not paid any attention to the planet." Rieekan states.

"The current shuttle has been pulled back to refuel but I wouldn't be surprised if they send another recon team to continue sweeping the sector." Garan adds.

"We have to divert their attention somehow, I just got the Ryndorian council to volunteer their support. If they're pressured by the Empire because of my presence there they may reconsider." Taneel explains.

"I'm not sure how that's going to be possible." Rieekan states.

"What if your man on the Vindicator were to disable the ship, I mean send it crashing into an uninhabited planet or sabotage it while in space. Wouldn't that possibly force the Blood Saber to withdraw from the Anoat sector to assist in a rescue operation." Taneel suggests.

Rieekan and Garan look at each other and state that the idea could work but the Blood Saber might not be the ship that's pulled off duty to assist.

"There's another problem with that idea, it would decrease our intel from the Imperial Navy by two. My operative has a partner on board, well technically two partners." Rieekan says remembering Kyler has an astromech on his team.

"We have other operatives on other ships Colonel, I think it's worth the loss." Taneel replies.

Rieekan and Garan exchange glances again thinking about the idea.

"The Vindicator is part of Soelin's battle group, it's a good chance he'll move his ship to the Albarrio sector to assist." Rieekan states.

"There's one other problem we're forgetting." Garan interrupts. "Since my team and I blew our cover on the JHI last month we've heard from our remaining operatives that all non-essential personnel have been restricted from certain areas of each ship."

"They're cracking down on security." Rieekan says more of a acknowledgement than a question.

"That's right, it may prove very risky to ask your operative to attempt sabotaging the Vindicator." Garan replies.

"I will speak with our operative and see what his options are regarding a sabotage of the Vindicator, in the meantime Senator I strongly advise you to cut short your mission and return to Chandrila." Rieekan adds.

"I tend to agree with them Terr, unless you feel there is progress to be made at your present location?" Mothma says.

"Unfortunately no, I think Praesitlyn sees the Empire as a savior, once it came into power the Separatist presence here all but vanished. I can leave first thing in the morning, I will have my assistant inform the ambassador then that I am feeling ill and have decided to return home on short notice."

"Very good, we will see you soon." Mothma replies.

"One more thing Colonel, if the Empire were to invade or occupy Ryndori, . . . if we're to keep good relations with them we must be prepared to stand by their side if they're attacked." Taneel states.

"With what Senator?" Rieekan replies bluntly hoping the Senator didn't make a promise they couldn't hope to keep.

Sensing the tension Garan steps in. "Senator since you are already off-world Ryndori is not likely in any real danger. The Imperials will probably send their recon team to scan the planet and when they don't find your shuttle anywhere on-system they'll likely continue on their search elsewhere."

"What about their new starfighters?" Taneel says having not yet informed any of them about the new ships the planet has been building.

"How many of these Sabre's are we talking about?" Rieekan asks.

"They currently only have twenty-five in active service but the flight commander is on his way to take delivery of another seventy-five units." Taneel says explaining her escort pilot's connection to Ryndori.

"Wait you mean those fighters the Brath brothers were flying?" Garan says remembering the craft they left on Utapau during the mission to Sluis Van. "They have another seventy-five of those coming out of production?"

"Yes Major and many more on the way after that."

"In the grand scheme of things twenty-five fighters wouldn't cause much concern for the Empire, but a hundred . . ." Rieekan says.

"You haven't seen these things Colonel, they're brand spankin' new and state of the art. I'd be suspicious, they will too." Garan says.

"Suggestions?" Rieekan asks.

"While you coordinate with our operative on the Vindicator I'll work on a contingency plan. Senator, send me the comm frequency for your contact on Ryndori and have your pilot plot a multi-jump, non-direct flight plan home and contact me once you've made the first jump." Garan orders.

"Yes Major."

* * *

Several hours later while off duty Captain Kyler is receiving a hail on his private comlink, he activates the projector and finds the image of Colonel Rieekan.

"I appreciate the information you sent us about the Blood Saber's recon mission Captain but it's time to get you out. I need to know if you and your partner can scuttle the Vindicator."

Shocked by the request Kyler hesitates to answer. "I . . . I'm not sure Colonel, I told you security has been tightened around all crucial ships systems."

"I know Captain but you do have a slicer in your partner Lt. Covell; surely he can generate some kind of cover for you while you accomplish your mission at the same time." Rieekan suggests.

"I'll meet with Lt. Covell and plan out strategy." Kyler states.

"Be sure you have a long range shuttle ready for your escape and if possible I'd set charges in the engine room, on the hyperdrive and both bridges." Rieekan adds.

"Wait escape, Colonel that's too dangerous. Once the ship begins to go down they'll be on the lookout for anyone attempting to leave before any evacuation is sounded."

"Think of how dangerous it will be for you if you stay, even if you evacuate with the rest of the crew they'll find you and make you talk. You and Covell have to get off that ship at all costs or make sure neither of you live through it."

"I understand Colonel, when do you want us to commence?" Kyler asks.

"As soon as possible, contact me once you've escaped."

"Understood, Kyler out." Once the image disappears he summons his fellow rebel spy Lt. Covell to his quarters. Once he arrives he informs Covell that they've been recalled. "It's time we get outta here."

"Sounds good to me let's go." Covell replies.

"Not yet, we have to scuttle the ship first." Covell's eyes widen in disbelief surprised by their orders. "I have access to the armory so I can grab a few thermal detonators but we have no way to get them to the target zones, you got any ideas?"

Covell thinks for a moment then snaps his fingers obviously coming up with something. "Mouse droids."

"What?"

"MSE droids. We can use them to deliver the detonators to the target, those little suckers go everywhere."

"Oh that's diabolical!" Kyler replies. "I like it! Are you sure you'll be able to retrofit them to carry the detonators?"

"Yes Sir, I'm the maintenance supervisor remember."

"You can't do the work there though, slice into the ship's systems and forge some orders to have three or four MSE's report here to my quarters for courier duty. Then get what you need from maintenance and get back here ASAP, you'll need to slice into the security checkpoints and cams to cover our tracks. Then I'll head for the armory to collect the detonators."

"Already done Captain, I've gotta program uploading now that will supplement any footage of us with footage taken just seconds before. It can be detected after prolonged use so I suggest you head for the armory now so we can shut it down ASAP."

"And the security checkpoints?" Kyler asks.

"I can go back in and wipe those when we get back, what about our exit strategy?"

"We'll work on that once we get back."

"Copy that." Covell says running to carry out his orders.

With no active away missions most of Kyler's troopers are off duty leaving the armory relatively empty. Aside from a solitary guard Kyler is able to walk in with his astromech stating he's performing a random inspection/inventory. The clone offers to accompany him but Kyler points out that he would then be technically abandoning his post. Once the armory doors close behind him Kyler turns to his droid.

The R7 series droid, displaying a monotonous Imperial paint job and featuring the somewhat villainous looking inverted triangular optics, opens a compartment on its side as Kyler stores four thermal detonators inside. Suddenly Kyler notices the EMP detonators sitting in the next crate and grabs one of those but the droid warbles something in its deep reverberating tones. Seeing the compartment won't hold another of the spherical devices Kyler swaps one out for the EMP detonator or "droid popper" as the clones refer to them.

"Alright Deesix, lock it up." Kyler says as the droid closes the compartment concealing the detonators.

When Kyler returns to his quarters he finds Covell already there working on gutting the first of three MSE droids. Amazed by his quick work he pulls the detonator from D6-Q5 and sets them on the table.

Noticing the droid popper Covell instantly assumes it will be used on the reactor, effectively disabling the ship while the latter two MSE's deliver their payload to the command and starfigher control bridges.

Kyler immediately begins checking the hangar bay flight logs looking for scheduled outbound shuttle flights from the ship via his datapad. Concerned over their safe getaway Kyler comes up with no results.

Nearly an hour later Covell, with the help of D6, finishes retrofitting and reprogramming the MSE droids to carry out their new assignments. They go through a final checklist as they prepare to initiate their plan. Once done Kyler hands Covell a small holdout blaster since no one will question himself wearing a sidearm.

"Conceal that under your jacket."

"Got it, you sure about this escape plan?" Covell asks.

"I know its risky going for a shuttle but Deesix has isolated the escape pod jettison system and will launch all escape pods once the reactor is disabled." Kyler explains. "That will effectively trap anyone on board that might identify us as we escape. Get the MSE's into position, as soon as we get to the hangar bay blow the two on the bridge."

"Dispatching MSE's now." Covell replies. "You too Deesix."

Having found no scheduled outbound ships Kyler ordered D6 to plug into a computer terminal once outside of his quarters to send the control bay orders to prep a long range shuttle for departure. Using Covell's slicer codes the clone officer working the control tower relays the orders having a Nu-Class combat retrieved from the inner bay and fueled for takeoff.

A few moments later Kyler and Covell exit his quarters and head for the hangar bay. Having given control of the MSE's to D6 to avoid suspicion Covell receives a message on his comlink from the astromech informing him the MSE's are in position to move towards their targets.

"Okay Deesix, initiate MSE one." Covell replies into the secure comm channel via his earpiece.

Just outside the reactor bay corridor the first MSE droid, carrying the EMP droid popper, rolls towards the reactor bay doors guarded by two clones. The MSE passes by without a second glance by the clones and rolls across the elevated catwalk towards the central core.

"Hey, you have no business here." says a Treadwell repair droid as it rolls down the opposite catwalk towards the mouse.

Relaying message to Covell D6 informs him MSE one is in position but a repair droid has spotted it.

"Deliver the package now Deesix." Covell replies quietly.

D6 sends a signal to the remote trigger built inside the MSE activating the droid popper. Kyler and Covell notice the lights flickering off a moment later as emergency power comes on and alarm klaxons begin blaring. Almost to the hanger bay Covell orders D6 to send in the other two carrying thermal detonators.

"Make sure you position them near the main viewport." Covell orders. "And get to the hanger bay ASAP."

They arrive at the hangar bay showing the forged orders for the shuttle. The clone officer hands Kyler back the flmsiplast and they head for the shuttle. As they approach they see D6 rolling into the other side of the hangar bay from an adjacent corridor, he stops before moving towards the shuttle and plugs into another computer terminal.

"Deesix, initiate MSE two and three." Covell says into his comlink.

Up on the command bridge MSE two rolls in inconspicuously and heads for the forward viewport. Several officers down in the crew pits watch the droid curiously as it rolls to a stop right next to the Captain's feet who is staring out the viewport.

"Uh Captain?" says one of the officers in the crew pits.

The captain turns to the officer whom is pointing his attention to the floor near his feet. The captain notices the little MSE droid and assumes it must be lost or malfunctioning. The lights flickers out from the EMP just as he gives it a slight tap with his foot as it explodes! The MSE in the starfighter control bridge explodes as well opening a breach into space.

Down in the hangar bay Kyler and Covell feel the ship lurch as they assume their plan was carried out successfully.

"Deesix, the escape pods now, then get to the ship." Kyler orders through his comlink.

As they walk towards the ramp they hear the clone officer call out to them. Somewhat suspicious that the order for the shuttle wasn't previously logged the clone paid it no mind until alarm klaxons began wailing. Once the ship shook from the implosion of the dual bridge and reports began flooding in to abandon ship the clone suddenly realized the possibility that Kyler and Covell aren't who they seem. The clone summons a few troopers nearby as they walk towards Kyler and Covell.

"Get her started." Kyler whispers.

Before the clones can react Kyler pulls his blaster and takes out the two troopers. The clone officer attempts to flee reaching for his comlink presumably to report that they have traitors on board but Kyler shoots him before he is successful. However the situation suddenly draws the attention of other clones in the hangar bay. Several techs begin calling for help as a few troopers quickly appear attempting to apprehend the traitors.

Covell, seeing D6 get aboard before he does turns and draws his holdout blaster taking down a clone on Kyler's flank.

"Come on!" Covell yells firing at another trooper.

Standing on the ramp Covell suddenly notices a large group of clones appear, encircling Kyler.

"Don't move traitor!" a clone Sergeant orders.

For moment Kyler assumes it's all over when he suddenly hears a whirring sound behind him. From inside the shuttle D6 plugged into the access socket and took control of the swivel guns attached to the nose of the ship. Seeing his master standing directly in front of the ramp and in between the guns, D6 opens fire taking out several clones and causing a distraction for Kyler.

"MOVE!" Covell yells firing at another clone not in the path of the guns.

Kyler turns and runs towards the shuttle firing behind him. With just a few steps between them Covell orders D6 to takeoff. Kyler steps up onto the ship grabbing Covell's extended hand just as a blaster bolt hits him in the back! Covell falls backwards with Kyler on top of him as he yells for D6 to close the ramp.

D6 keeps the guns firing as he pilots the ship out of the bay and into space.

"Captain Kyler, Kyler!" Covell says rolling out from under him and checking for a pulse.

He finds one but it is faint as he feels Kyler take his other hand.

"Report in to Rieekan, tell him we did it." Kyler mumbles.

"Hang in there, we'll . . . "

Kyler shakes his head knowing he's not going to live. "It's . . . . it's okay. L . . . look after Deesix . . . f . . . f . for . . ."

Realizing there's nothing he can do and assuming what he was trying to say Covell simply says, "I promise Captain." He hears a sad warble from D6 a moment later as he drags Kyler's body into the passenger hold. He then hits the switch lowering the pilot's chair from the cockpit and climbs in. "Stay plugged in Deesix, I'm not technically a certified pilot yet. Plot me a hyperspace jump outta this sector towards the mid rim okay."

Once the chair lifts him up into the cockpit Covell surveys the damage on the Vindicator as D6 puts some distance between them. Moments later he spots several secondary explosions begin to tear the Vindicator apart. The ship finally buckles and explodes into several huge chunks.

"So much for the Vindicator." Covell says to himself. A moment later he hears D6 speaking to him. He looks on the screen seeing the translation in Basic telling him he's plotted a course for the jump to lightspeed, he takes one last look at the Vindicator and pulls the hyperdrive lever.

* * *

Back on the Blood Saber the ship begins getting mayday hails from the Vindicator. Major Mepone, who is in command of the bridge at the time, hears the news and orders the communications officer to clean up the garbled transmission.

"Inform the Vindicator we read them, we'll move to assist as soon as possible." Mepone orders.

"There's no response Sir, I think they went down." the subordinate replies.

"Are they under attack?" Mepone asks.

"Unknown Sir, still no response."

Mepone sighs heavily. "Very well, keep transmitting. I will inform Admiral Soelin." Mepone uses the comlink to inform Soelin about the report on the Vindicator. At first Soelin doesn't believe his ears but then he orders Mepone to set course for Mygeeto. "Yes Admiral, it will be done at once." Mepone replies deactivating the comlink and relaying the orders to the helm.

Mepone looks out the viewport as the ship jumps into hyperspace a moment later. He begins to wonder if this could be the result of more rebel spies that have infiltrated the Imperial Navy. He remembered the reports of five officers that were discovered on board the Jedi Hunter I, while that ship was damaged during their escape it was not destroyed by them alone. He sighs heavily realizing at the rate they're going the rebels could easily take down the entire fleet without engaging them ship to ship, however he quickly discards that theory. Mepone continues to look out the viewport as Major Duklaa walks up beside him having heard the news as well.

"First the Jedi Hunter I, then Sluis Van and now this." Mepone says.

"I know, this is becoming a bigger problem than any of us anticipated. I'd hate to be on Coruscant right now." Duklaa states referring to the Emperor.

"Indeed." Mepone replies.

* * *

Once the Nu-class shuttle arrives in the inner rim territories Covell shuts down the engines and hails Colonel Rieekan to get new orders.

"It's good to hear from you Capt . . . excuse me Lt, I already heard reports that the Vindicator went down. Good job, I assume you both made it out okay?" Rieekan asks. Covell informs him that they both made it out but only he made it out alive. "I'm sorry to hear that Lieutenant, I'd love to tell you to take his body to Alderaan for burial but unfortunately both it and Chandrila could be closely watched by the Empire. I'm having you meet with Major Garan on our Utapau base, he'll give you your next assignment Lieutenant." Rieekan explains.

"Understood Sir, Covell out."

Before setting a course for Utapau Covell lowers the pilots' chair and takes the pale green coat of his uniform off as well as the cap and rolls up his sleeves. He then uses the jacket and covers Kyler's body with it. He removes the holster from Kyler's hip, wearing it himself and places the blaster inside. He shoves the small holdout blaster in his belt on the left hip opposite the holster on his right. He then retakes the seat in the cockpit and has D6 plot a course for Utapau.


	27. Warning Ryndori

The Blood Saber arrives in the Albarrio sector to find their assumptions about the damage were well underestimated. Soelin who returned to the bridge an hour ago thought he'd find the ship disabled and adrift, he was shocked when they found the remaining pieces of the Vindicator.

"I'm picking up escape pods!" a junior officers exclaims.

"Engage tractor beam, escort the survivors to the bridge." Mepone says taking the initiative.

"I must be reading this wrong."

"Crewman?" Soelin asks.

"Admiral the scanner show all the escape pods are empty!?" the crewman replies.

"That confirms it then, this was a rebel attack and from within our own ranks no less." Mepone states.

"How long will it take to weed out these rebel traitors!" Soelin says angrily.

"I could initiate and extensive background search of our non-clone personnel." Mepone suggests.

Soelin informs him that would take too long and would likely not even produce any real results. "Send a message to my battle group that no one is to be allowed access to critical areas of the ships unless they have been previously scheduled for duty. I want to be informed immediately if anyone tries to muscle their way into any restricted areas that they don't belong in." Soelin orders. "Also double the clone guard posts to all engine room, armory, hangar bays, hyperdrive and bridge access points!"

"Yes Admiral it will be done at once." Mepone states delegating the task to Duklaa. "Do you think the rebels will try this again?"

"I think this will be the last time they get away with it but I doubt it's the last time they try."

Soelin dispatches salvage crews to the remains of the Vindicator. Most of the survivors pulled from what was left are clones or lower ranking officers and none had any useful information to give about the events before the ship exploded.

* * *

After being off duty for the last ten hours Major Garan is summoned to the command center for an incoming transmission. He walks into the control sphere putting on the jacket to his native Alderaanian uniform. When he opens the holoprojector he finds Colonel Rieekan on the other end, Rieekan informs him that the Vindicator has been obliterated by Captain Kyler and his partner.

"Sounds like they completed their mission to the letter; let's hope the Blood Saber is headed out that way." Garan states.

"Our remaining spies have already reported in, the Blood Saber should already be in the Albarrio sector by now." Rieekan explains.

"So I"m assuming Kyler and Covell are on there way here now?"

"They are however Kyler was shot during the escape, he didn't make it. I want you to help Covell hold a funeral for Kyler before he's given his first assignment."

"Of course Sir." Garan replies. "We're pretty well staffed here but I could certainly use a good slicer on one of our corvettes."

"Excellent idea."

An hour or so later Garan is informed that an Imperial Nu-class shuttle has come out of lightspeed over the planet. The receive Kyler's identifier codes and Garan orders the com-tech to give him clearance to land. He walks out to the rim of the sinkhole where the landing pad has been set up and comms the med center to summon a gurney. A moment later the ship comes into view at the top of the sinkhole.

"Whoa take her down easy Deesix!" Covell says a little uneasy about landing in a giant sinkhole.

Once the ship sets down the ramp lowers and Covell walks out reporting to whom he assumes is Major Garan waiting for him.

"It's good to meet you Lt, I'm sorry to hear about Captain Kyler."

"Thank you Major, I'd like to see to his funeral before I take on my next assignment." Kyler states.

"I just received those exact orders from Colonel Rieekan." Garan says as personnel from the med center arrive and load Kyler's body onto a hover-gurney. "Why don't we get you a suitable uniform and we'll have a memorial service tonight."

Covell nods his head and is shown to some visitors quarters as D6 silently follows behind him.

Garan returns to the control sphere and asks his assistant to pull up the manifest logs for their corvettes. He finds one ship, the Rampant Rebel, which has a com-tech aboard with minimal experience and decides to assign Covell to the ship. He orders one of the com-techs in the sphere to contact the Rampant Rebel and a moment later the image of the female Iktotchi captain appears on the holoprojector.

"Captain Rassae, I believe I found you a more capable com-tech for your ship." Garan says.

"Excellent, shall we head back to HQ then?" the Iktotchi replies.

"Negative. Stay in orbit over Mon Calamari but dispatch one of your N-1's with an astromech here to pick him up. However you might be sure it's not an astromech you or your crew are partial to."

"Sir?"

"The com-tech, Lt. Covell, he's actually a top rate slicer; has his own astromech so we'll be swapping his out with whichever droid you send to retrieve him."

"Understood Major, we'll send an N-1 right away. Shall we also send our current com-tech with it?"

"No I'm not ready to rotate him off, Covell will help train your current tech. HQ out."

After holding the funeral proceedings for Captain Kyler, Garan informs Covell that he's being reassigned to the Rampant Rebel and gives him his orders.

"When do I leave Sir?"

Before he can answer Garan hears the sound of a ship landing in the sinkhole. "I think that's your ride now."

"An N-1, Major I'm not much of a pilot."

"I know but you'll have your droid with you." Garan says pointing to D6 next to him.

"Thank you Sir."

* * *

As the Ryndori transport arrives on Fresia Kesaro notices his contacts, Tane Prasua and Emy Deplimir, awaiting them on the landing pad. Kesaro is the first to exit as his pilots begin to file out of the ship, he walks right up to the two Incom representatives and says, "You sold our prototype!?"

Unaware of the sale Prasua's smile fades as he tries to inform him that is not possible but Kesaro states he knows it's true because they encountered the ship and its pilot a few days ago.

Kesaro doesn't bother telling them that luckily the pilot happened to be the long lost brother of one of his men. "Where get the gall selling off that ship when you knew we wanted total anonymity?" Kesaro asks.

Prasua apologizes thoroughly hoping this setback doesn't jeopardize their very lucrative agreement with the client. "That salesman will be fired immediately, I hope you'll still continue with our agreement." Prasua says. When he receives no answer from his client Prasua offers a sizable discount off the next installment.

While still angry Kesaro just glares at him with a annoyed look. "Show me the next installment." is all he says in response.

* * *

While the salvage crews search for more survivors of the Vindicator Soelin stands on the bridge wondering what purpose was served by destroying it at this time. He'd assumed the rebels knew that destroying a single Star Destroyer, while not an easy task, was a huge victory for them. The Imperial Navy has dozens upon dozens of Venator Star Destroyers not to mention other light vessels; frigates, corvettes and etc used among the fleet. He tried to theorize what the purpose could be.

"For what purpose would they have for sabotaging the Vindicator." Soelin says aloud.

Ever observant of his superior Mepone walks over and ventures a thought. "Perhaps it was a diversionary tactic."

Soelin eyes widen with disbelief that he did not see this earlier, the Blood Saber had been tracking that shuttle from Chandrila. He realizes they must have been getting close to something or someplace important so they had their operative scuttle the Vindicator to draw their attention away.

"You'll be an Admiral one day Mepone, I'll see to that."

"Sir?" Mepone replies curiously.

"The location where those 170's disappeared, there was a planet there. It could be a rebel outpost." Soelin states as he orders all salvage crews back to the ship. He then orders helm to plot course back to the Anoat sector. "Tell our scout shuttle in the next system that we're on our way and inform the Krayt's Tooth and the Havoc's Cry to rendezvous there."

"Yes Admiral." Mepone states sending the signal to the rest of the battle group himself.

* * *

On Chandrila, Senator Taneel finally arrives home along with her escort. As she is greeted on the platform by Mon Mothma, Colonel Rieekan comes running out appearing to have urgent news.

"We just received word from our spy on the Krayt's Tooth, Soelin has ordered his battle group to meet him back in the Anoat system. They took the bait and went to assist the Vindicator but they must have figured out it was a diversion."

"Oh no." Taneel replies. "We have to help them, if they think Ryndori was responsible for the Vindicator going down they'll surely occupy the planet!"

"I know, I've already informed Major Garan and he has a contingency plan ready. He's waiting for you on comms."

"Is he sending in the corvettes?" Taneel asks as they all walk into Mothma's private residence together.

"Those corvettes won't stand at chance against three Star Destroyers!" Zaniel says stepping in.

"Patience Lieutenant, let the Major explain the plan. Both of you need to join us." Rieekan says to the brothers.

Once the group is in a secure room swept free of recording devices Rieekan activates the holocomm displaying Garan's image.

"Greetings everyone, with the Blood Saber reportedly on its way back towards Ryndori, or at least the neighboring sector, we have have to assume that the Imps figured out that destroying the Vindicator was a distraction. I have a plan but it's risky and I'm going to need two things if we're going to pull this off." Garan explains. With no interruptions Garan continues. "The first being the full cooperation and trust of your people Zaphael."

"I'll do my best to convince them to trust you Major." Based off the planning and execution of the Sluis Van mission Zaphael figured Garan had already earned his trust.

"The second thing is the Jedi. While not crucial to the plan if we can get them on board the odds off success will be far greater. Garan explains. "Senator, when you gave them a ride off Agamar did they happen to mention at all where they might be headed?"

"They mentioned Na . . . . a place, yes." Taneel says remembering the conversation she had with the female Jedi.

"Is there anyway we can find out where specifically?"

"We have a contact there, I will reach out to them and see if they know anything." Taneel replies.

"Good, do so immediately. Then dispatch Zaniel to find them." Garan orders turning to face Zaniel in the holoprojector. "Lieutenant, I'm sending you with a message for the Jedi, hopefully it will persuade them to help us."

"Copy that Major."

"Very good, at first I had hoped the Empire would just scan for the Senator's ship then leave the system but now I'm thinking we'll just give them what they are looking for. Here's the plan . . ." Garan says.

A short while later Taneel privately contacts the Queen of Naboo inquiring about the Jedi; fortunately she learns they did exile themselves there and she receives the coordinates of the lake house.

Once Garan learns Taneel has their location he transmits the message to Zaniel's astromech and sends him on his way. Zaniel hops back in his fighter, puts his helmet on and informs R9 to set course for Naboo.

"Okay Senator, let's contact Ryndori and let them know what's going on." Garan says.

Taneel contacts Consul Harke and asks her to summon the Prime Minister of Ryndori explaining that they have an urgent situation at hand. Once the Prime Minister is in view on the holoprojector they quickly inform them of the Imperial shuttle scouting the sector near Ryndori. Instinctively the Prime Minister becomes outraged claiming that it was Taneel's presence that led them to Ryndori. However with Zaphael's urging and Harke's counsel he soon realizes not only did they extend the invitation to Taneel to visit the planet but the ship could just be on a routine patrol and allows Garan to explain his plan.

"First and foremost; those new fighters you have, launch them all immediately and position them behind your nearest moon." Garan explains. "They need to stay there until and only if the situation escalates and the time comes to strike."

Seeing the logic behind the move the Prime Minister agrees. "Alright, what next?"

"Okay now the rest is going to sound risky but I think we can pull it off."

After explaining the plan and getting the Prime Minister's full cooperation Garan informs him that he is dispatching Zaphael back to Ryndori immediately. Also that more support will be en route shortly with orders to remain in reserve on the moon if needed.

Moments later Zaphael runs back out onto the landing pad and hops into his fighter.

"First your brother now you, where's the fire?" Wurth asks.

"Ryndori, stay put I'm sure you'll get new orders in a few minutes." Zaphael says as the cockpit closes. He takes off plotting a hyperspace course bound for Ryndori.

"Did you reach Commander Kesaro?" Garan asks over the comlink.

"No I left a message for him though explaining the situation and his orders just as you instructed." Harke replies.

"Let's just hope he gets it before he arrives, do you have any last questions about the plan?" Garan asks.

The Prime Minister exchanges a glance with Consul Harke. "No I think we're good,our pilots are reporting to their fighters now. We will be ready."

"Alright, remember to only use this frequency if you need to contact us."

"Good luck." The Prime Minister says.

"May the Force be with you!" Taneel and Garan reply in unison.

When the transmission ends the Prime Minister turns to Consul Harke.

"Consul Harke, are you sure you want to undertake this assignment you volunteered for; you know what this could mean for you?"

"I do completely Sir, this is my home but unfortunately I have no ties left here. My parents are gone and I have no family of my own so I figure that makes me the perfect candidate." Harke explains. "I love this world and I'm prepared to do my duty to ensure its safety, even if that means I may never get to see it again.

"Very well."

"Are you sure you won't reconsider using your decoy, we could still get you safely to the retreat in Rhewi before the Empire arrives." Harke asks.

"No. My decoy is a look alike only, he's not capable of holding political conversations or making command decisions in my absence." replies the Prime Minister. "I will remain here and do my duty. Speaking of which we must move quickly if we are to be prepared."

* * *

Back on Chandrila Taneel, still in contact with Garan asks what else she can do to assist.

"You already have your orders Senator, get your men mustered and loaded into your ship and inform your last two escort pilots of their new assignment." Garan explains.

* * *

On Coruscant in his personal residence, a dark obelisk like tower situated in the Senate District, Darth Vader sits meditating in his hyperbaric chamber as he receives a transmission from Admiral Soelin. Soelin reports not only the destruction of the Vindicator but his order to rendezvous with the rest of his battle group near a planet within the unknown regions of the galaxy.

"The planet lies somewhere between Bespin and Bakura, I believe there is a rebel base there."

"What makes you believe this Admiral?" Vader says.

Soelin informs him he'd been following a shuttle with Chandrilan markings on it that may have carried the Jedi from Agamar and that they'd lost contact with a group of fighters they sent after it.

"I think they took out the Vindicator to draw our attention away from this planet, I'm not able to identify it as it was never part of the Republic." He watches Vader remain still for a moment obviously pondering the situation.

"Proceed as you see fit Admiral and keep me informed of the situation."

"Yes Lord Vader." Soelin replies bowing as the image disappears.


	28. Assembling the Fleet

Orbiting one of Chandrila's moons the Pride of the Jedi's com-tech begins receiving a transmission from Utapau. The com-tech summons Captain Balek to the bridge and informs him of the new orders to head for a planet called Ryndori.

"This is gonna be messy, Commander Kaeon sound general quarters and ready the ship for battle." Balek orders. "Pilots need to be in their ships and ready to deploy once we reach Ryndori."

"Aye, Captain." Kaeon replies.

* * *

On the Rampant Rebel, currently over Mon Calamari, Lt. Covell is greeted by Captain Rassae once D6 docks the N-1 in the hangar bay. After quick introductions the Captain informs Covell they've received orders to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet over Ryndori.

"Ryndori?" Covell states not knowing the planet.

"Yes Lieutenant, it may soon fall under occupation or attack by an Imperial battle group." Rassae informs him handing him a holopad with the orders on it.

Rassae also informs him that they are supposed to remain over Mon Calamari until the rebel smuggler team leaves the system. She shows him to his station introducing him to his protégé.

"While we're here I'd like you to monitor all inbound transmissions checking for Imperial codes." Rassae orders.

"Yes ma'am." Covell replies.

On the planet surface below Gleim and his team are being loaded with the last crates full of medical supplies. He receives a transmission from the Rampant Rebel, which he was told would be stationed there for support, that they're headed to Ryndori to help defend against a possible Imperial attack on an ally.

"I copy, you go ahead and split we're almost done here." Gleim states over his comlink.

"Negative Arawak we've been ordered to remain in orbit until you launch."

"Are you sure Rampant? If you're needed elsewhere more important you better get going, like I said we're just about done here." Gleim replies.

"The fleet is mobilizing in preparation for some kind of diversionary strike force. Major Garan seems to be pulling out all the stops, he's even supposedly enlisting the help of a Jedi." Rassae says over the comm.

"He's got a point though Captain, the coordinates for this planet, Ryndori, that we're headed to is halfway across the galaxy." says the Rassae's executive officer.

"Copy that. Are you sure you don't want us to wait Arawak?" Rassae says back to the Arawak.

"Copy that Rampant, you said there's no chatter on any of the Imperial frequencies currently in the system. We'll be fine, the only thing we may have to worry about is pirates, hehe." Gleim says joking.

"Affirmative Arawak, good luck." Rassae replies. "Helmsman take us out."

* * *

Gleim switches off his comlink as the last hover bed full of crates is loaded. He turns slightly to the right as he'd heard a noise from Ez-6 during the transmission with the Rampant Rebel. "Everything alright Eazee?"

"Um . . . no . . . uh master Gleim I have something to tell you." With word of another battle involving the rebels and the mention of both Major Garan and another Jedi Eazee calculates the possibility that it might be Jori who is involved. After a moment she decides to tell Gleim the truth; however before she can R5 begins emitting a series of beeps and chips trying to dissuade her.

"Back on Agamar, R5 and I weren't late to the ship because we got lost, we . . ."

"Yeah?" Gleim says curiously.

". . . .we saw mistress Jori."

The thought doesn't register in his mind right away, assuming he misheard her he asks Eazee to repeat herself. The second time he hears her perfectly.

"What, Jori died Eazee." Assuming now she's malfunctioning.

"Apparently not, she said Major Garan used a hologram to fake her death. She was gravely injured when he found her and thought it be best that everyone thought she'd died to protect her." Eazee explains Jori's recount of the situation.

When the Rampant's captain mentioned Garan enlisting the help of a Jedi Gleim didn't pay any attention to it but after hearing Eazee's claim he begins rethink things. "I don't believe it, where is she?" Gleim asks.

"She said she was going into exile."

"On Agamar?" he asks.

"No she was looking for someone there." Eazee states.

"The Solusar kid, she's alive?" Gleim says to himself still shocked by the revelation.

* * *

Back on Fresia Kesaro opens his holoprojector to find a message from Consul Harke as well as one from General Marin. Both state of the situation on Ryndori and that they request he return with reinforcements as soon as possible; however he finds Consul Harke's message has another file attached to it stating it will explain the mission. He opens the file as it plays a recording of a transmission between Ryndori's Prime Minister and Consul Harke speaking with Senator Taneel, Zaphael and a rebel officer he learns is Major Garan.

As the last T-55 is brought out of the manufacturing plant he informs his pilots that there is a situation back home. "Finish preflight checks on the double and man your ships, your squadron leaders will brief you once airborne."

Kesaro then discreetly gathers the two other squadron leaders by his fighter craft as his droid handles the preflight inspection and briefs them on the situation. "Once your in space set course for home to drop out of hyperspace at these coordinates." Kesaro orders.

"Commander we can come out of hyperspace a lot closer than that." one of the flight leaders says noticing the coordinates.

"Follow your orders Lieutenant."

"Yes Sir."

"Good, now let's get gone!" Kesaro says jumping into his Sabre.

A few minutes later he leads seventy-four T-55s into hyperspace along the Metallos trade route.

* * *

After a short hop off the Hydian Way Zaniel brings his ship out of lightspeed just over Naboo, as he enters the atmosphere he checks the coordinates of the lake house again. As he breaks through the clouds in view of the expansive green pastures he spots the solitary house sitting in front of a small lake. He lands just a few yards from the house and opens his cockpit, before he even moves to pull off his helmet a yellow lightsaber is brought to bare at his neck! He looks up and spots the female human Jedi standing on the nose of his ship, to the right he finds the other Jedi with her weapon drawn as well.

"Zaniel!" Jori says having not identified the presence they felt nearby. The girls deactivate their blades as they greet their new friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, uh I seem to have lost my train of thought." Zaniel says pulling off his helmet and crawling out of the ship. "Why the fierce welcome?"

"Sorry about that, we had an unexpected visitor the other day." Jori says.

"The Empire?" Zaniel asks.

"No a bounty hunter but it's all taken care of now." Jori adds. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to disrupt your solitude but we need your help. My brother's home planet, Ryndori, is in danger of being discovered, maybe even attacked, by the Empire. I have a message here for you from Major Garan." Zaniel states turning to R9 to initiate the recording. R9, still sitting in the socket behind the cockpit, rotates his dome clockwise a few degrees and displays the holo of Major Garan as the message begins."

" _Greetings Jori. Please don't be alarmed, once I heard that the senator assisted two Jedi in escaping Agamar I figured it had to be you. However based on her report and description of you I gather the other Jedi was not the boy you were looking for. Hopefully this finds you still in contact with that other Jedi because the Rebellion is in need of your help." Garan says as he explains the situation and their part in his plan. "If you are unable or unwilling to get involved believe me I understand and won't hold it against you. However if you are willing, Lt. Brath will escort you to Ryndori. Either way . . . may the Force be with you." Garan's image bows respectfully before flickering off._

The girls hesitate wondering if they should put themselves back into the fray. Zaniel pleads with them stating he just found his brother whom he'd never known existed and that Ryndori is where his mother lives as well.

"Please help us."

Jori looks at Ahsoka and then agrees with one condition. "If Vader shows up, Ahsoka and I will have to leave. We cannot be forced to confront him again." Jori states.

"Deal, by the way now that we're working together again might I have the pleasure of your names?"

"Sure, I'm Jedi Knight Jori Kai." she says figuring there's no harm in releasing her name now.

Ahsoka notices it almost immediately, Jori identifying herself as a Knight. Sensing a similar feeling she felt after waking up in the Skylux Ahsoka begins to wonder again if Jori's keeping something from her. Suddenly she realizes the pilot is speaking to her.

"I'm sorry what did you say?"

"I was asking what your name is?" Zaniel says.

"Oh, um . . . Jori, a word please."

Curiously Jori steps away from the fighter craft for a moment as Zaniel explains that they need to leave now.

"Just hold on a moment flyboy." Ahsoka replies.

"What's going on?" Jori asks following Ahsoka out of earshot. "Are you having second thoughts about going?"

"Not exactly but why do I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me." Ahsoka replies confronting her openly.

"What do you mean?" Jori says genuinely confused.

"When we met you told me you were still technically a Padawan and yet you just told flyboy that you are a Jedi Knight?"

Suddenly she realizes the problem, it was her first slip since receiving Master Yoda's instructions. While she was granted the rank of Knight Ahsoka wasn't supposed to know about her encounter with Yoda. Luckily she doesn't let her lapse show in her expression and she quickly deflects the inquiry.

"I see what you mean, I guess I just felt it was deemed by the Force given the circumstance we're in."

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asks.

"The Order is gone, the only thing we can hope to do is survive until the Empire can be defeated. You said yourself you'd felt your destiny was to continue to uphold the ideals of the Jedi, peace and justice and what not. Things may be different but I consider you a Jedi Knight too Ahsoka." Jori says.

Ahsoka stretches out with her feelings into the Force trying to sense if that is the truth or if there is more that she's hiding. She realizes she might still not be able to find out either way; given the story about the holobooks her and her master studied while stranded on Rhen Var. Either way Ahsoka can determine no reason not to trust Jori, she knew too well the Force works in mysterious ways.

Jori looks are her curiously for a moment then says, "So we good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

"Ladies if you're still on board we should really get going." Zaniel says.

"Yes we're on board." Jori replies.

"Awesome, I never got your friend's name though."

Feeling a prompting from the Force Ahsoka is somewhat hesitant to release it. "Just call me Snips."

"Oh . . . okay Snips, Jori, where's your ship?"

Jori tells him to take off and he will see it. The girls quickly run to the waterfall where their scout ship is hidden.

"Why didn't you want to give him your name?" Jori asks as they walk up the gantry to the ship inside the cave.

"I dunno I just felt the Force nudging me to keep it to myself." Ahsoka says honestly.

Once airborne Zaniel spots the ship emerging from the waterfall and leads the way out to space.

* * *

Within a few minutes the Arawak is ready to lift off as Gleim checks in with his team to ensure everyone else is ready to go. The quintet of freighters take off exiting Mon Cala's atmosphere a few moments later. Once in space they wait for Tarmy, the unit's primary navigator to send hyperspace coordinates.

"Make ready to jump in five minutes." Says the female Er'kit.

"Uh anyone else see those two large blips on the scope coming from that nebula ahead?" asks Pomek over the comm.

Gleim checks his scope and pulls up what technical data he can on the two inbound ships. "Son of a bantha!"

"What?" Xafus asks.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Gleim adds.

"What!?"

"Pirates, it had to be pirates. I was joking when I mentioned pirates to the Rampant." Gleim says flabbergasted.

"I guess that will teach you to dispatch our escort before we leave the system next time, they must have been waiting inside that nebula for the Rampant to move out." Xafus says.

"But why, all we've got onboard is medical supplies."

"They don't know that, besides you really think they'll believe us if we told them so?" Xafus says making a good point.

"What's the plan Gleim? Those ships just launched short range fighters." reports Cyprus.

"Yeah and my navicomputer is still calculating the jump to lightspeed." Adds Tarmy.

"Tarmy how soon can you get us those coordinates?" Gleim asks.

"Two minutes max but I won't be as confident in that short of time."

"All ships power up your weapon systems and prepare to defend yourselves, we've got no chance of outrunning these guys." Gleim orders as he turns to Xafus. "I'll take the rear gun, Eazee get up here and take my seat to assist Xafus. R3, plug in and monitor the shields to revert power bow to stern as needed." Gleim orders as flies aft of the ship to the deck above the cargo hold.

He straps into the gunner seat, modified for just his size, as he looks out the three sided viewport facing out the back of the ship. He puts on the headset comms on testing communication with the cockpit and the rest of the unit and grabs the dual pistol grips thumbing the trigger.

While most of the other pilots in Gleim's unit are forced to man their weapons while piloting their ships due to each being the solo crew member Mishi, the Twi'lek, is the only exception.

Her ship, the Ryloth's Revenge, was named for her people's steadfast resolve to fight back during the Separatists occupation of her homeworld during the Clone Wars. The Revenge was not only the biggest ship in Gleim's unit but it was also bristling with firepower! Boasting three separate gun emplacements on the bow of the ship; one located just starboard of the cockpit, another below the cockpit at the base of the main deck and the third just aft of the cockpit on the port shoulder. The ship looked like a cargo container on steroids, with its two engines located over the main cargo hold capped off by tails on the exterior sides. It also features two small wings flaring out at the sides just forward of the engines and bearing an array of proton torpedoes, missiles and rocket fired tracking beacons. However the most impressive and usually deterring feature, of any would be aggressors, on the Revenge was the long barreled point-defense dual laser cannon located on her back. While considered a light weapon by a Venator's standards, it was the heaviest weapon in Mishi's as well as the entire team's arsenal.

However due to the fact that the cannon couldn't be operated from the cockpit Mishi came up with a fairly simple, albeit ironic, solution. She hits a switch on her control console summoning her gunner, the cockpit door slides open a moment later as a B1 battle droid with a custom paint job walks in.

"You summoned me Captain?" says the droid.

Having been present during the occupation of Ryloth by the Confederacy of Independent Systems and subsequently part of the Twi'lek rebellion, Mishi had plenty of opportunities to procure a few battle droids for herself to serve as her crew. With the help of a friend she spent weeks reprogramming and refurbishing them for various functions aboard the Revenge. All of them had been damaged to some degree but with thousands smashed, sliced, blasted or ripped apart during the many battles that took place during the Republic liberation of the planet, Mishi had ample replacement parts. Once they were functional she adorned each one with a custom paint scheme. She gave Gunny streaks of black camouflage across his entire body resembling the stripes of a Nexu. The other two she planned to use to primarily to help load cargo in and out of the ship although she equipped them with their standard droid blasters mounted on their shoulders in the event she needed some backup while in port. She gave them each a fairly simple scheme, blue graphics adorning their heads and torsos and feet.

"We've got incoming, man the gun!" Mishi says.

"Roger, roger!"

"Form up around Mishi and distract the fighters while she hits those yachts." Gleim orders through the comm.

When the various array of fighter craft close in range they open fire on the group, the team responds back by shooting down two of the nine craft right away. As the two yachts close the distance Gleim recognizes the larger of the two as an old Corporate Alliance frigate predating the Battle of Naboo by at least three decades.

Mishi's droid fires on the old frigate but doesn't even dent it's shields.

Gleim aims and fires the Arawak's rear gun on a weary looking CoreSec Starfire as he tells Mishi to target the smaller yacht figuring the frigate won't be able to keep up.

"You hear that Gunny." Mishi says over the comm to the droid.

"I copy Captain, switching targets."

The droid acquires his new target and unleashes a salvo as the yacht passes by, the shell hits the ship's port side engine taking out its shields protecting it. The pirates circle around for another pass as Tarmy reports less than one minute until jump coordinates are available. Meanwhile Gleim blows apart the Starfire as he spots the Revenge resume fire on the yacht as it comes in fast with guns blazing.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Gleim orders Xafus.

Mishi throws extra power into her rear shields giving Gunny more time to pound on the yacht. He lands a salvo on one of the yacht's weapons emplacement then finally hits that port side engine again blowing it to pieces. With one engine down and on fire the yacht pulls back. Gunny fires a few last pot shots at it as the yacht slows to increase the distance between them but the rounds hit their forward shields weakening but not penetrating them.

With their heavy escort gone the ragtag group of remaining pirate ships try one final time to disable at least one of the freighters to raid its goods. However the combined strength of the rebel unit and the weapons at their disposal prove to be too much for them. Two more fighter craft burn up in flames before they finally call it quits retreating to their frigate.

"Nice work everyone, Tarmy you have those coordinates yet?" Gleim says.

"Transmitting now." she replies.

"Good, everyone set your navicomputer to drop us out of hyperspace when we reach Saleucami." Gleim orders.

"I know we're zig zagging our way back to HQ but why are we dropping out so soon?" Cyprus asks.

"I've got to get some answers, we may not be heading back to HQ just yet." Gleim says.


	29. Imperial Investigation

Zaphael drops out of hyperspace in front of Ryndori's closest moon and is immediately hailed. One of his fellow pilots, designated Sabre 2, informs him the flight group has been ordered to set down on the far side of the moon on alert.

"Some of our new friends just arrived ahead of you too." Sabre 2 adds.

As Zaphael approaches their position on the moon his astromech, RK-R7, directs his attention at the corvette sitting next to the T-55's sitting on the surface. Realizing it's one of the ships he helped the Rebellion steal he sets down his fighter between it and his fellow Ryndorians.

"Shut down everything but comms and life support Arker." Zaphael says to the droid. "This is Sabre 1, are all wings accounted for?"

"That's affirmative 1. Curious though, if your designation is 1 who is acting as Sabre leader?" replies two.

"My brother, Lt. Zaniel Brath . . . if he shows up on time, I assume everyone is familiar with his fighter?"

"Copy that 1." Sabre two adds.

Zaphael asks about their company and learns this particular corvette has been dubbed the Clone Reaper.

"What now?" Sabre two asks.

"Now we wait."

About twenty minutes later the Clone Reaper's com-tech informs the group they have four ships coming out of hyperspace on radar.

"Imperial?" Zaphael asks over the comm.

"Negative Sabres, looks like it part of our group."

Zaphael recognizes the ships on radar as Senator Taneel's shuttle, Tosch and Wurth emerge from hyperspace followed by another corvette. As the shuttle and its dual escort head for the planet the corvette alters its course towards the moon. As it approaches the Clone Reaper patches Zaphael into the comm frequency identifying the second corvette as the Pride of the Jedi.

Another ten minutes later Zaniel's Sabre erupts from hyperspace followed by a small long range scout ship. The two craft split off as the shuttle heads for the planet and Zaniel comes in to land with the fighter group.

"Glad you made it Lt." Balek says over the comm to Zaniel.

"Thanks Captain."

"We've been waiting for you Sabre leader." Zaphael says as his brother sets his ship down next to his.

"Thanks, wait what?"

"You heard him right Lt." Balek says.

"You've been designated as our flight group leader until Commander Kesaro arrives." Zaphael states. "But even after he arrives you'll still be our squadron leader."

"Copy that."

* * *

When the scout ship lands on a private pad in the government district Jori and Ahsoka, both cloaked, are greeted by Consul Harke and her entourage.

"Master Jedi, on behalf of Ryndori thank you for your assistance. This is my handmaiden Yaren and Lt. Cale Webt." Harke says introducing the two both in civilian clothing. "I assume you've been informed of your assignment?" Harke asks.

"Briefly, although it couldn't hurt to go over the plan once more." Jori replies as everyone's attention is drawn to the erratic beeping of a comlink.

"Looks like we'd better make it quick Master Jedi, Consul," Says Lt. Webt checking the message. "Looks like the control tower just picked up a lone Imperial shuttle dropping out of hyperspace."

"Are we sure it's the Imperials, it could be one of the ships the Rebellion is using." Harke states.

"It's not one of the type of ships they informed us they would be using here, it looks like this is it." Webt replies.

"Then we'd better get to our positions, quickly this way Master Jedi."

* * *

In the spaceport control tower a representative of the Prime Minister is watching on the monitors as he is told that the planet is being scanned by the shuttle. Moments later they are hailed and the representative orders the tower operators to open a comm channel. He looks in the monitor as an Imperial officer introduces himself as Captain Fynner of the Imperial Army.

"Captain Fynner, this is Murl Fogan Representative to the Prime Minister of the sovereign world of Ryndori. How may we be of assistance?"

"Representative Fogan, my orders are to track down a rebel cell that may be operating within this sector. One of our probes spotted this shuttle . . ." Fynner says transmitting the specs of the craft in questions to Fogan. "leaving Bespin in the Anoat sector and plotted its trajectory here. We are entering your atmosphere now, you will allow us to scan your spaceport for the ship and search for any weapons you might be hiding."

"There's no reason for all that Captain,"

"I disagree Fogan!" interrupts Fynner. "We have plenty of reasons, the theft of our ships on Sluis Van and the destruction of one of our Star Destroyers, the Vindicator. Now you will allow us to land and begin our search."

"If you would permit me to finish my sentence Captain you would understand that what I meant earlier is that I can tell you the ship in question is indeed here." Fogan replies.

"Excuse me?" Fynner says shocked by the confession.

"I know not of any rebel cell to which you are referring but our Prime Minister is currently hosting visitors that are here representing a relief effort working in the outer rim. They came to ask for our support such as a donation of food, clothing and medical supplies." Fogan explains. "As I said before we are a sovereign yet peaceful world; while we're not part of the Empire or its former Republic state, we don't wish involve ourselves in any such external conflict. Please land at once, I will be waiting when you arrive to serve as your escort."

"Thank you for your cooperation." replies Fynner as he deactivates the transmission.

"Something wrong Captain?" Says his clone Sergeant.

"Nothing Pax, just wondering if our intel on this planet is incorrect."

"You don't think there's a rebel base here?"

"Not if the planet is willing to share this much information; and be so cooperative; either their visitors are the rebels we've been tracking and they just gave these Ryndorians a cover story or our intel is wrong altogether. Either way I don't think the planet has anything to do with the rebels; although things remain to be seen." Fynner adds.

"Right, we'll keep our eyes peeled Captain." Pax says.

"Pilot, inform the Blood Saber that we're going in then start the landing cycle." Fynner orders.

When the shuttle comes in to land Fogan and four palace security guards, armed with stun batons only, await the Imperial recon team. Fynner steps off the ship in his pale green uniform donning a armored chest-plate and battle helmet. Followed by his detachment of the clones.

"Representative Fogan, please direct my men to the ship in question. I would like to have it scanned and checked before we move on to questions its occupants."

"Of course, it's in the next bay."

"I hope for your people's sake you've not alerted these visitors of our arrival." Fynner says somewhat threatening.

"Of course not Captain. I'm sorry to hear of those incidents you spoke of earlier. I know our Prime Minister would refuse any assistance to them if he learned they were these rebels you speak of." Fogan says. "Do you have direct evidence that connects the ship and its owners to those incidents you mentioned?"

"Not at this time but they were tracked leaving another system that Imperial forces were trying to lock down, it was also suspected that it could have been carrying two fugitive Jedi."

"Jedi?" Fogan says appearing genuinely confused.

Fynner stops in his tracks as they approach the bay. "You're not familiar with Jedi?"

"Vaguely." Fogan smiles humbly. "Once again I must remind you that Ryndori is not part of the Empire, we exist out here on the edge of the galaxy on our own. We only recently learned of the Republic's reformation into the Empire."

"I see." Fynner says. "Did the shuttle arrive with a fighter escort?"

"Yes, two as well as smaller transport." Fogan replies. "The escort ships are in the next bay but the pilots are not there and the other transport is sitting on a private landing pad in the government district where the committee is staying."

"Sgt. Pax, assign a team to stay here to scan and search the ship, also check out the fighters in the next bay; then we will move on the rebels themselves."

"Yes Captain."

"I assume your visitors are sequestered?" Fynner says asking Fogan.

"Not quite but they are all in the quarters we provided for them while our Prime Minister deliberates on the decision to help them."

"Good, then I would like to have a word with your Prime Minister first."

After getting permission to admit the Imperial team Fogan escorts Fynner into the Prime Minister's office. He introduces Captain Fynner to the Prime Minister stating that they suspect the relief effort committee of being rebel traitors to the Empire.

"That's very distressing new Murl," The Prime Minister says. "they came here on a mission of peace and you're saying their an extremist group?" the PM says looking at Fynner who is holding his battle helmet under one arm.

"We suspect so yes, how long have they been here?" Fynner asks.

"They arrived yesterday, while I felt compelled to help my advisors reminded me that we know nothing about them. So at their insistence I invited the committee to stay in the city until we made our decision. With no direct access to the holonet we had to rely on information from some of our traders on Bespin; we asked them to research the relief group they said they represented. Even though they only asked for food and medicine we'd heard rumors that there was dissent in the Empire. I wanted to be sure that their cause was genuine, we didn't want to inadvertently supply any form of resistance." Explains the Prime Minister.

"Why didn't you contact the Empire then to investigate." Fynner asks.

"With all due respect Captain we had no way to contact the Empire and our planet exists outside your government. We did all we could to determine their intentions. If your claim is true and they do represent part of a rebel cell then I want them off Ryndori! Our world has not seen a war in five hundred years, I intend to keep it that way."

"I'm glad you feel that way Prime Minister. Now if your men will direct us to them we will take them into custody and ascertain their identity." Fynner says replacing his helmet on his head.

"Of course, representative Fogan and his men will show you to the visitors quarters we accommodated them with."

As Fogan moves to escort them out Pax informs Fynner

that a transmission is coming in from the Blood Saber.

"The Blood Saber?" the Prime Minister says curiously.

"Our ship, excuse me for a moment while I report in." Fynner replies.

* * *

Dropping out of hyperspace over the unknown planet moments ago the Blood Saber attempts to hail their recon team.

Having picked up the Star Destroyer on radar Balek checks with his com-tech making sure the frequency being used to communicate with their forces and Ryndori's is properly encoded. After receiving confirmation Balek gets on the comm.

"Alright just relax everyone, we don't make a move unless absolutely necessary." Balek says figuring some of the Sabre pilots are probably feeling very uneasy right about now.

Just outside the Prime Minister's office Captain Fynner reports in. Pax holds the holoprojector displaying the image of Admiral Soelin.

"Admiral, it appears the Chandrilan shuttle is here, the Ryndorian Prime Minister has been more than cooperative and my men and I are on our way now to take them into custody."

"Ryndorian?" Soelin says.

"The planet Admiral, it's called Ryndori." Fynner replies.

"I see, are the Jedi among them?" Soelin asks.

"Unknown yet Sir, the Ryndorians seem to be unfamiliar with the Jedi though, since their planet resides on the edge of the unknown regions they have limited contact with the rest of the galaxy. They claim the Chandrilan shuttle and its people came in support of a relief effort working through the outer rim."

"Very well, proceed Captain. Report in as soon as you have the suspects in custody, I will have reinforcements put on alert in the meantime." Soelin orders.

"Yes Admiral."

Soelin turns to Mepone and orders him to have the Clawdite escorted to the bridge immediately and assemble his magna-troopers in the hangar bay. Along with the magna-troopers he orders four squads of clone troopers to be placed on alert status." Soelin states.


	30. A Warrior in Disguise

After the transmission is deactivated Captain Fynner allows Fogan to lead his troops to the palatial visitor center tower adjacent to the capitol building. Fogan stops in front of the appropriate door pressing the chime as the clones spread out around the door.

"They are all sharing one suite?" Fynner asks ensuring his blaster is charged.

"No, this one is occupied by the committee leader and her handmaiden, the rest of her staff are in another less extravagant room on a lower floor." Fogan says just seconds before the double doors swish open.

"Representative Fogan, please come in milady has been eagerly awaiting news of . . ."

The handmaiden is interrupted as Fynner gives the signal to move in. The clones enter the suite barking commands as they clear the area of any threats.

"Stand aside!"

"Hands up."

"Don't move!"

The clones find two others in the interior sitting room talking as Fynner walks in followed by Fogan.

"Representative Fogan what is the meaning of this intrusion!?"

"You have my apologies Lady Harke but we suspect foul play." Fogan replies. "Captain Fynner here of the Imperial military seems to think you and your committee are actually rebel traitors."

"Search them." Fynner orders.

"You will do no such thing." Harke exclaims as a clone moves to frisk her. "I am here on a mercy mission as an ambassador of peace."

"Then you should have nothing to hide, you and your staff will come with us to my ship until we can properly determine otherwise." Replies Fynner.

"Representative Fogan, I am appalled that you contacted the Empire. Perhaps my people were wrong to hope that Ryndori would care about helping those less fortunate." Harke says.

"You are mistaken milady, they came to us." Fogan says gesturing towards Fynner. "And if you truly are whom you say then I'm sure our Prime Minister will be more than willing to make a generous donation to your cause. However we have to be sure, you must understand Ryndori can't not be held accountable for supplying revolutionaries."

"All we asked from you was food and medicine, how dare you suspect us of inciting a rebellion."

"Food to feed troops and medicine to heal them, such supplies are still required in times of war." Fynner says looking to his men. "What are you waiting for I said search them!"

The clones quickly pat down Harke and her associates.

"No weapons on them Captain." Reports Pax.

"I've got something weird over her sir!" another clone says.

Pax walks over to the clone who had just finished frisking Harke's assistant Yaren.

"You find something trooper?" Pax asks.

"Feel something strange on her back, it's under her robes sir."

"I have a steel rod in my spine." Yaren explains with her hands up.

Pax examines her expression looking for signs of deception then finally turns to the clone who had searched her. "Watch her closely."

"Sir, yes sir."

"Representative Fogan, you will now lead us to the other room you mentioned where her staff is staying." Fynner orders.

"Captain, shall we place binders on these three?" Pax asks.

Fynner looks from Pax to Harke waiting to see if she's going to put up a fight.

"As much distaste as I have for this witch hunt I will cooperate." Harke says crossing her arms defiantly.

"Negative but as you said watch them closely."

"Yes Captain."

Fogan leads the way out of the suite and summons two turbolifts when they reach the end of the hall. They all pack in leaving eight clones, including Pax, to wait for the next turbolift as they ride down several floors.

"How many are occupying this room?" Fynner asks looking at Fogan.

"This is a standard servants quarters, two bunk rooms attached to a shared common area. There were eight others, six arrived on the transport with that one," Fogan says nodding towards Lt. Webt. "plus the two escort pilots."

"That should have raised enough suspicion for you Representative, escort pilots for a mercy mission." Fynner says glaring at Harke.

"You've never heard of pirates?" Harke spits back.

"We will see." Fynner replies turning to Fogan. "Get on with it."

Fogan depresses the door chime and they hear a female voice in response stating that the door is unlocked. When Fogan opens the door Fynner finds two females sitting across a dejarik table from each other, he notices one of them is cloaked with the hood pulled low over their face.

"Milady Harke, what . . . what's going on?" says the brown headed female wearing the tan outfit.

"Search them." Fynner orders. "Where are the rest of your comrades?"

"They went out to have a drink with the escort pilots." Replies Jori.

"Find the others." Fynner says turning to Fogan. "Transmit descriptions of the remaining crew to my men immediately."

"Yes of course, should I not also have them transmitted to the city? That way they may be apprehended more quickly?" Fogan suggests.

"No, I don't want them to know that we are on to them. Eventually they will return here and when they do my men will be ready to catch them."

"Of course, very clever." Fogan says.

As a clone begins searching her for weapons Ahsoka uses the Force to levitate her lightsaber within the folds of her cloak as the clone quickly pats down her hips.

"This one's clean." Says the trooper.

Across the table another clone begins searching Jori. Noticing the empty blaster holster on her right hip the clone is about to begin frisking her when he takes a closer look inside.

"What do we have here?" the clone says pulling what he assumes might be a vibroblade out of the holster.

"I was hoping you wouldn't find that." Jori says casually.

"Hutt slime, it's a lightsaber!" says the clone. "She's a kriffing Jedi!"

"So much for hoping this planet would help us against the Empire. Jori says as the clones all raise their blasters at her. "I think it's time to leave Milady Harke."

"Yes time indeed."

In a flash a green lightsaber comes sweeping out of the folds of handmaiden's cloak as Ahsoka takes down two clones in an instant. The clone on her left, the same one who searched her, didn't even have time to contemplate how she managed to keep the weapon from being discovered as Ahsoka separates his head from his body.

The melee begins across the spacious room and in the hallway outside; Jori uses a backhanded fist slugging the clone standing behind her still holding her lightsaber. The Force enhanced blow cracks the clone's helmet sending him crumpling to the floor dropping the lightsaber as he goes down. Jori calls the weapon into her grasp before it hits the floor and springs into action slicing through another nearby clone turning back to impale the first who was trying to get back to his feet.

In the hall Lt. Webt spots his opportunity when the clones' attention is diverted by the snap-hiss of the Jedi lightsabers being activated. Gesturing with his left wrist the small palm size blaster extends on its slide from within his armband. He grabs the small blaster and shoots two clones through their exposed jugular before gaining the attention of the others. He shoots a third at point blank range in the chest but the blast doesn't penetrate the armor. He reaches to the floor grabbing a clone DC-15 carbine in his right hand to continue engaging them.

Meanwhile Harke attacks Fogan hitting him square in the jaw. Fogan stumbles from the blow catching himself against the wall; Harke moves in to hit him again but she finds herself restrained by one of the clones.

Seeing the lightsabers blaze to life Fynner ducks backwards rolling towards the relative safety of his men near the door. As he momentarily retreats he transmits a call for immediate backup to his men informing them to report word back to the Blood Saber that they have encountered two Jedi. As more clones enter the room to engage the Jedi Fynner steps into the hall where he spots one of his men restraining Lady Harke. He draws his blaster aiming it right in Harke's face intending to execute her unless the Jedi stand down; however before he can state his intentions he witnesses something surreal. Fynner watches stupefied as his own hand, still clutching the blaster, falls to the floor separated at the forearm! He screams in horror as the realization sinks in and spots Lady Harke's handmaiden move fluidly into view before him.

Springing into action with the others when the melee began Yaren immediately went for the guards nearest her, which happened to be Fogan's men armed with the stun batons.

Secretly serving as Lamara's bodyguard for years under the guise of a simple handmaiden, Yaren was well versed in many forms of hand to hand combat. She made quick work of the seemingly inexperienced Ryndorian palace guards then tore off her robe revealing a stunning ornate red qipao drawing the vibrorapier and its shorter counterpart out of the steel sheath located down her spine. Figuring with Lamara's cooperation the clones wouldn't conduct a more thorough search on her at least until they were brought to the Imperial shuttle. Luckily they bought her story of having a steel rod attached to her spine; it didn't matter either way though, with or without her blades she was a deadly weapon.

After amputating Captain Fynner's arm, momentarily saving her mistress from an apparent execution, Yaren moved to neutralize the clone restraining her before turning her attention back towards the Captain. She follows Fynner as he back steps into the room cradling his injured arm just as the Jedi are mopping up the rest of the clones inside.

Fynner turns around briefly thinking the Jedi might be more merciful. However before he can even begin to offer his surrender, or ask for a quick death, he finds the shorter of Yaren's blades protruding from out his chest plate!

With a sharp tug Yaren withdraws the blade as Fynner falls to the floor, she looks up and notices the Jedi have already cleared the room of the remaining clones.

"I miss my shoto." Ahsoka says noticing the smaller blade Yaren used to kill the Imperial officer.

Jori lets out a slightly frustrated sigh. "I get it, I owe you a shoto but this really isn't the time okay."

They follow Yaren back into the hallway where Lamara has just slugged Representative Fogan again as he got to his feet while Webt takes down the last of the clones.

"Milady, stop we're clear." Says Yaren pulling Harke off of Fogan. "We need to get out of here."

"Yes of course, you're right." Harke says.

One of the palace guards begins coming to but Yaren points the end of her vibrorapier at him and the guard freezes.

"You're a . . . . a handmaiden?" Webt says having noticed Yaren's skills moments ago.

"Part time." Yaren says smiling at him convincingly as Harke asks him to inform the others.

"Right." Webt says grabbing his comlink. "Sgt. Allard do you copy?"

As Webt informs their men that they've been made Yaren takes the DC-17 pistol from Fynner's hand and gives it to her mistress. She then sheathes her swords and grabs a DC-15 carbine for herself.

"That's right, get back to the ship as soon as you can. We'll try to get Lady Harke out on the Jedi shuttle. Wait for confirmation before you take off and it might be a good idea to have our escort pilots blow that Imperial shuttle so they can't follow. Although I'm sure there'll be more coming, GET BACK!" Went yells suddenly to Harke and the others as he spots the turbolift down the hall open revealing the remaining clones.

"There they are, get 'em!" orders Pax having heard Fynner's transmission.

* * *

"Admiral incoming transmission from the scout team." Reports a crewmen aboard the Blood Saber. "Captain Fynner has reported that they have encountered two Jedi!"

"Are they the two Jedi we encountered on Agamar?" Soelin asks.

"Unknown yet Admiral."

"Launch alert gunships immediately and where is Cato?" Soelin orders.

"Here Sir." says Clone Commander Rook.

Soelin, who has the lightsaber Mepone acquired attached to his belt, turns as Rook's men bring Cato Parasitti to the bridge in stun cuffs.

"We've ascertained that there are two Jedi down on that planet." Soelin says nodding towards the viewport. "Remember our deal, if you are successful in killing them or even aiding in their deaths or capture I will see to your release."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Cato retorts.

"You will imitate this person." Soelin says holding up his datapad displaying the image.

"And the voice?" Cato says.

Soelin presses a button on the datapad playing a short video of the figure speaking at a public event on Coruscant. Soelin retrieves the lightsaber from his belt and hands it to Rook. "Do not give it to her until you land, you may remove the binders then. You will need this as well . . ." Soelin says handing Rook the remote detonator for the band around her wrist. "If she gives you any trouble, kill her."

"Yes Sir!" Rook replies obediently.

"My magna-troopers are already mustered and waiting for you in the hangar bay."

"Copy that Admiral." Rook says turning to the security detail. "Let's move out!"

Rook and his men arrive in the hangar bay just as the last two gunships are lifting off. They secure the prisoner inside the shuttle filled with the waiting magna-troopers and order the pilot to takeoff.

* * *

 **Okay so this chapter title has sort of a double meaning as relates primarily to Yaren but could also apply to Cato. I also had to have a reference to Indiana Jones.**

 **Qipao =** **Mandarin-Chinese for a** **body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women.**


	31. Adjusting the Plan

From the moon the flight group watches as the dorsal hangar doors open on the destroyer and eight gunships begin flying towards the planet followed by another Nu-class combat shuttle.

Seeing the reinforcements headed planet-ward Captain Balek orders his helmsman to take off then turns to his com-tech.

"Tell the Clone Reaper to follow our lead and open a channel to Ryndori."

"Aye Captain."

"Ryndori control, come in this is Captain Balek."

"We read you Captain." Replies General Marin.

"You've got incoming, the Imperials are sending their ground team reinforcements." Balek explains.

"We see them, they just came on the scope. I suppose you have a plan?" Marin asks.

"We're moving into position to intercept." Balek informs.

"But the rest of your fleet hasn't arrived yet!"

"We have a couple of fighters on board, we'll make do." Balek replies.

"Negative Captain, that Star Destroyer will certainly dispatch fighters or move in on you themselves once they see you attacking those gunships." Marin explains.

"You have a better idea?"

"Yes, dispatch our Sabre's." Marin says.

"What? That wasn't part of Major Garan's plan." Balek replies.

"It is now and from the Empire's point of view they will be Rebel fighters not Ryndori, our cover story will remain intact. Besides once either of us move to intercept those gunships we'll have our hands full with the Star Destroyer."

"Understood, we'll have to hold out until Kesaro arrives with reinforcements." Balek replies switching to the flight group's com frequency. "Lieutenants Brath . . . "

"We already received the order Captain." interrupts Zaphael.

"We're lifting off now, let's hit those gunships as fast as possible then make for the Star Destroyer!" Zaniel says flying over the Sabre squad taking point as they lift off.

"We copy Lieutenants, all fighters plot a micro-jump to the following coordinates!" Balek says designating a flanking position on the gunships vector.

"A micro-jump?" Zaniel says curiously.

"Copy that, the Imperials haven't picked us up on radar yet. If they see us coming in from the moon they might expect foul play from Ryndori. This way it will appear we're just coming in from hyperspace, let your astromechs take control. In the meantime we'll head for alternate coordinates near the Star Destroyer, maybe we can strike a few blows before they realize we're not one of them." Balek orders from the bridge of the Pride of the Jedi. "

"Understood Captain, good luck."

As Balek watches the radar he notices the T-55's entering space. The entire squadron jumps into hyperspace together a moment later pulling out just after a few microseconds.

"Send the Clone Reaper our jump coordinates." Balek orders. "And tell them to initiate on my mark."

* * *

"Admiral we have multiple ships coming out of hyperspace!" a crewman reports on the bridge of the Blood Saber.

"Sound general quarters and launch fighters immediately." Soelin orders.

"Sir we have two Imperial corvettes coming out of hyperspace on our flank."

Expecting the rest of his battle group Soelin wonders on whose orders the corvettes were sent.

* * *

Balek orders the corvettes to fly within range of the destroyer and open fire on the bridge deflector shields once in range.

"They're hailing us Captain." Reports Kaeon. "Shall we ignore?"

"No transmit our forged Imperial ident codes; helmsman ahead full. All batteries prepare to open fire.

* * *

"Form up by twos and prepare to open fire on the gunships!" Zaniel states through the comlink as Zaphael makes his way up on his port side. "Save torpedoes for the destroyer."

At full speed the column races towards the flight of gunships and the shuttle bound for the planet's surface.

"Now!" Says Zaphael over the comm.

"Fire!" Zaniel orders.

Fifty two repeaters cannons blast away at the incoming gunships. Zaniel and Zaphael lead the column banking hard right as they nearly collide with the Imperial ships from their flank. Four gunships are shot down right away as the rest of the Sabres follow their leaders. The gunships fire back as they spread out allowing the shuttle to continue on towards the planet. Zaniel calls for damages from the squadron, only Sabre fourteen reports back that he was hit but is able to continue on. Zaniel informs the squadron they're going to make another pass then head for the Star Destroyer.

"Good idea, the rebel corvettes won't last long against those deck guns." Zaphael says.

* * *

"Admiral we've already lost half of the gunships and those rebel fighters are making another pass at them!" Duklaa states on the bridge of the Blood Saber.

"170's are deploying now." Reports Mepone before Soelin can reply.

"Sirs those two corvettes are still headed our way." says another crewman.

"Were they identified?" Soelin asks.

"Yes Sir, they both transmitted Imperial ident codes but they're still coming in."

Soelin looks out the port side viewport as the corvettes approach closer and closer.

* * *

"Engage now!" Balek says as orders the Pride and the Clone Reaper forward.

* * *

"Comm, wave them off they're getting too close!" Mepone orders taking the initiative.

Suddenly Soelin perceives the threat to the ship. "Belay that, shields up NOW!"

* * *

The corvettes open fire with everything they have aiming for the deck guns and the dual bridges! The shields go up on the Blood Saber but moments too late as two deck guns and the starfighter control bridge are destroyed!

Once they make their initial pass Balek orders both ships to deploy N-1's. He orders Sogan to concentrate his attention on the Imperial fighters that are launching. He then asks Kaeon to open a channel to the T-55 fighter group.

"We need you up here ASAP, my N-1's are going to keep the Imp fighters occupied for a moment but we need you to take out the deck guns while we hit the bridge deflector shields."

"We're already on our way to you Captain, we took out two more gunships and hit another, it may not make it to the surface in one piece" reports Zaniel. "We'll do what we can but you might want to keep your distance from that Star Destroyer." Zaniel suggests.

"Then our ground team will just have to deal with them. As for as keeping our distance, I don't think that's an option. We're all in this now Lieutenant." Balek replies.

* * *

Up in the control tower General Marin looks into the atmosphere with a pair of macrobinoculars; he spots the two Imperial gunships still incoming and offers a quick prayer hoping the rebel ground team will be able to escape in time.

* * *

Inside the spaceport cantina Chandrilan native Sgt. Allard and five of his best men along with Tosch and Wurth have been lying in wait for the signal to make their move on the shuttle.

"Okay boys let's move." Sgt. Allard orders.

The eight of them step outside and pile into the hover-tram which brought them there; as the tram's droid driver starts its way back to the landing bay Allard and his men each discreetly remove a small foldout blaster rifle from their backpacks. They conceal the weapons as best they can as the tram turns a corner heading into the quintupled cluster of landing bays.

"Stop here, now!" Allard orders the droid. As the droid brings the tram to an abrupt halt it gathers the attention of a few clones guarding the Chandrilan shuttle. "GO!"

Allard and his men take point filing out of the tram and opening fire on the clones taking down three in the first barrage! Realizing they are under attack the rest of the clone detail engages as Tosch and Wurth try to make their way into the landing bay holding their fighters.

* * *

"Fall back!" Webt urges as he fires on the new group of clones as they file out of the turbolifts.

"Jori take point." Ahsoka suggests as she deflects an incoming blaster bolt.

Yaren grabs her mistress and quickly leads her down the opposite end of the hallway following the older Jedi towards the stairway.

"We have to get her back upstairs to the ship." Jori says checking the stairway for more clones. Once clear she ushers in Yaren and Harke and calls after the others to follow. "Cale, Ahs . . . Snips, let's go!"

"You know that sounds really weird not coming from my master." Ahsoka says in reference to the nickname.

"You know you have an uncanny knack for starting the most bizarre conversations at the most inopportune times." Jori replies as they run towards her.

As they file into the stairwell Pax orders two of his men forward to clear the room and orders the rest to continue pursuit; at the same time he gets on his comlink and orders the shuttle to patch him to the incoming support ships.

"Copy that Sgt, I guess you found the rebels because a small team of hostiles are trying to get to the Chandrilan shuttle." Reports one of the troopers as he carries out his orders.

"This is gunship 3, we're inbound to your position Captain Fynner." Says the pilot over the comm.

"Captain Fynner is dead, this is Sgt. Pax," Pax says having just found Fynner's body inside the bunk-room common area. "The rebels are moving upstairs to a ship located on a private landing pad, there are two Jedi in the group."

"We read you Sgt, we're getting reports from your shuttle team that they are caught in a firefight with more of the rebels. We'll offload your reinforcements there first then head for the government district."

"Copy that." Pax says kneeling next to Fynner's corpse. "We'll avenge you Captain, you have my word on that." Finally he looks to the two troopers in the room with him. "Let's go get those rebel traitors!"

As they file out of the room Pax is stopped at the sight of Representative Fogan getting to his feet.

"Sgt. Pax, please you must catch these rebel brigands, my men are not trained for such combat." Fogan says imploringly. "Please find them and get them off our planet!"

"Don't you worry Representative, we'll get 'em!" Pax says. "Now it might be a good idea for you to evacuate and return to the safety of your offices."

"Yes of course." Fogan says as Pax and the remaining two troopers rush off to catch up with their squad. Once the clones disappear into the stairwell Fogan smiles deceptively.

* * *

As Jori and the others climb flight after flight of stairs she asks Webt if there's any possibility that there are more clones waiting for them upstairs.

"Not likely, looks like Fynner brought the whole team, except for Pax and the others that just followed us down here." Webt replies.

"It's like we're going in circles." Yaren observes.

"Technically speaking, we are." Ahsoka adds.

"I hope Murl isn't too upset with me, I hit him pretty hard." Harke says as the group stops for a brief moment to rest.

"He played his part and you played yours Consul; I'm sure he bears no hard feelings towards you." Webt reaffirms her.

"Come on, we don't have time to rest. We've gotta get to my scout ship! Jori says passing them to take point again.


	32. One Nasty Clone

Back in the spaceport Allard and his men spread out as they continue to push for the Senator's ship. Tosch and Wurth stayed in the tram as the others began their attack hoping that the clones wouldn't notice them when they made their move for their fighters. When the tram's droid driver started to move out due to the disturbance they hopped off and made for their landing bay.

However they are taken slightly by surprise as three clones exit the bay having seen their brothers engaging the others; positioned on the three clones' flank Tosch and Wurth immediately draw their blasters and gun them down. It was then that the main group of clones notice their participation and several of them begin firing at the two. Fortunately their said participation caused a slight diversion for Allard and his men; as a few of the clones turned to fire on the pilots Allard and his team are able to break cover and take down a few more clones.

"Go, get to your fighters!" Allard yells as he resumes fire. Suddenly he notices two gunships coming in on approach to the spaceport. "Lieutenants, we've got incoming." He says activating his comlink. "You better get off the ground quick, we're gonna need some air support."

Both pilots strap in and fire up their engines in record time as they hear the report from Allard via their comlinks. As his engines come to life Tosch glances out his starboard side spotting the two gunships approaching! He lifts off the deck first, rotating to starboard forty-five degrees and opens fire on the closest gunship which he notices is already smoking. The gunship pilot tries in vain to fire on the old D-36 Wingstar but is too late as the cockpit takes a direct hit!

"Wurth don't move!" Tosch says over the comm as he powers up his repulsors ascending out of the gunship's path.

Wurth looks up out of his canopy seeing the burning gunship coming in low directly towards him, he winces and closes his eyes thinking it's all over. Luckily the ship overshoots him skidding off the landing bay wall and crashes into the empty bay adjacent to them.

"Tosch I don't know whether to kiss you or kill you!" he says after opening his eyes.

"Move it, there's another incoming!" Tosch warns ignoring his friend's remark.

Wurth takes off immediately as his Y-70 Nebula is pelted by small arms fire from the clones aboard the second gunship. He follows Tosch around a sweeping arc of the spaceport as the second gunship lands deploying its troops.

"Where's that air support!" Allard says over the comm as he turns to fire on the group of clones at his flank that the gunship just dropped off.

"Keep your pants on Sgt, we're coming!" Wurth says.

When he and Tosch come back around they line up taking aim at the combat shuttle sitting in the central landing bay. They open fire in unison destroying the shuttle, the resulting explosion also takes out the remaining clones taking position in that landing bay.

With their initial front effectively neutralized Allard orders his pilot to make for the Senator's ship and prep it for launch. "Terran, go for the ship! We need to be ready to lift off once we get word that the others are clear."

"Hey, where's he going?" Tosch says noticing the gunship heading for the government district instead of back into space.

"The second team, he might be going to intercept their ship." Wurth theorizes.

"Stay here and cover Allard and his men, I'm following that gunship." Tosch says.

* * *

When they reach the level where Harke's suite was located Jori stretches out with the Force trying to sense if there are more troops waiting for them. Once she realizes the floor is clear of danger she leads the others in from the stairway. They make their way to the south side of the tower climbing an open set of shallow stairs up to the veranda leading out to one of three private landing pads the tower is complemented with.

As they approach the scout ship, which is sitting undisturbed, they hear the sounds of another ship nearby. Suddenly they see the gunship ascend into view and open fire on the scout ship with its rockets! Sensing the danger Jori emits a Force shield enveloping the resulting blast as the others dive to the ground at the top of the shallow staircase. While this time she is more prepared the concussive force of the explosion still pushes Jori backwards; even with her feet planted firmly she feels herself sliding but is suddenly caught in the waiting arms of Ahsoka. As the explosion subsides Jori sags in Ahsoka's arms from the intense exertion.

Before either one of them can even think of how to evade the next barrage from the gunship its engines are raked by blaster fire from another ship! The gunship spirals out of control as more fire comes in and it crashes into the side of the building two floors below them. Jori vaguely recognizes the fighter craft that was responsible for taking it down as it flies by and realizes it was part of Senator Taneel's escort.

"Thanks." Jori says finally letting out a deep sigh.

"No problem," Ahsoka replies removing her hands from Jori's midsection. "but we'd better figure out another way out of here quick, those clones will be up here shortly."

"Right." Jori says wondering how they are going to escape. "Aren't there's two other landing platforms on this building?"

"Yes but they're both on lower floors." Webt replies.

Jori leads the group back to the north side of the building where they can see the spaceport sprawling before them on the edge of the city. Knowing the first team is there engaging Imperial troops that were guarding the shuttle and is awaiting word that they've gotten clear Jori doesn't dare risk wasting time fighting through multiple levels of clones to get to one of the lower landing platforms. It was likely there weren't even any ships there, she tried to remember from their approach into the city if she'd seen any other ships occupying those platforms.

"What are we doing?" Webt asks.

"I'm thinking." Jori says. "You and Yaren watch that stairwell, they'll be coming." As they move to go cover the stairwell Jori does a double take noticing something on the clone blaster Yaren is holding. "Wait! Yaren, your carbine." She says holding her hand out for it.

Yaren hands her the weapon and Jori removes the ascension cable attached to the barrel. She tosses the carbine back to her as they run to cover the stairwell as suggested.

"Jori you can't be serious, at this height they may not make it." Ahsoka says knowing her plan as Jori looks out the transparasteel.

Realizing Ahsoka is right she turns to Consul Harke. "Is there anything up on the roof where a ship can get to us, an access hatch or something?"

"There's an observation deck, it's small but it might work." Harke replies.

"It sounds like a dead end to me." Ahsoka says.

"Maybe but hopefully when the clones see you and I at the base of the tower they'll head back down after us, totally bypassing Consul Harke and the others." Jori says explaining her plan. "While the clones attempt to pursue us we can get back to the spaceport and get a ship back here to pick them up on the roof."

"Is that the best option?" Harke asks.

"It's risky but I think it's our best bet." Says Ahsoka. "That gunship certainly dropped off more troops to the spaceport. Our team there may not hold out much longer but Jori and I can get there fast."

"Alright what do you need from me?" Harke asks.

"Is there an additional stairwell besides that one?" Jori asks pointing to the one the clones are undoubtedly climbing.

"Yes down this hall, it's actually the only one that leads to the observation deck."

"Then get going, Yaren, Cale get over here." Jori yells. "Snips guard the stairwell while I set up the ascension cable, that way the clones will see us bringing up the rear."

"Got it!"

As Ahsoka exchanges places with the others Jori ignites her lightsaber slashing into the transparasteel twice before using the Force to blow out the window. She fires the ascension cable towards the ground hooking the back end into the window frame. She turns to makes sure Harke and the others have already made their way to the opposite stairwell and finds them gone.

"Ahsoka let's go!" she says as she suddenly hears the sounds of blasterfire.

A moment later Ahsoka runs through the stairwell door. "Well they're here and they really don't like us anymore." She says as she steps up to the open window frame.

"Let's go." Jori says as she jumps out the window.

Ahsoka follows a moment later and they both free fall for a few seconds before using the Force to slow their landing

"We gotta get to that spaceport quick." Jori says as they augment their speed with the Force.

* * *

Pax finally reaches the floor where they found Lady Harke and the others as his troops inform him the rebels escaped to the streets via an ascension cable.

"How did their friends make it from this height?" one clone says.

"They have Jedi with them, they probably helped them down with the Force or something." Another suggests.

The rest of them look at Pax as he arrives and examines the cable, he finally notices their attention on him and says, "What are you waiting for? GO AFTER THEM!"

"But Sgt, the incline it's too steep!" one clone says.

"Do you have an ascension cable on your weapon?" Pax asks that clone holding the DC-15 rifle.

"Yes sir."

The answer the clone receives is a kick to the chest pushing him out of the window!

"MOVE IT!" Pax yells.

Several clones fire their own cable and begin zip lining the intensely steep cable to the ground. All the clones hit the ground with a thud and a roll, two end up breaking a leg. The one Pax pushed out fired his cable during his free fall but the sudden pull of his weight and the momentum from his fall caused the cable to snap and the clone fell dead to the ground.

When Pax steps up to the window frame and takes hold of one of the cables he stops suddenly realizing something. Spotting the one dead clone at the base of the tower and the two other that are obviously injured he begins wondering if that trooper has a point about the incline, no normal person would likely make it. Obviously as clones, bred and trained rigorously for war they had better odds of surviving such a feat, as the evidence now supported.

"Sergeant?" asks one of the remaining clones next to him.

"They're still here?" Pax says turning around.

"What?"

"He was right, the incline is too steep for most normal beings. The Jedi could make that drop easy but their friends, not likely." He says more to himself than his troopers. "They may still be here somewhere."

"Sgt, we have wounded down here." Says one of his fellow troopers over the comlink.

"Copy that Lowball, the Sergeant thinks those rebels might still be up here." another responds.

"Tell him to call in for more reinforcements and search the area for the Jedi." Pax orders.

The clone relays the order then follows Pax and the other two troopers as they begin searching the rest of the floor.

* * *

 **While in the middle of writing this chapter I slowly started to realize that I wanted to see a Clone in the role of a villain. Obviously you could argue that all the clones were villains when they executed Order 66 but I wanted a more individual clone villain. Starting with this chapter and the ones ahead I started evolving Pax's character; not only is he tough as nails and a hard ass but all he truly cares about is victory.**


	33. Friendly Casualties

"Where are those T-55's?" Balek asks as the Pride of the Jedi makes another pass at the Blood Saber.

"They're coming in now Captain." Kaeon reports.

"We're almost there, once we're up over the bow Zaph and I will split off into two flights, fire torpedoes by twos at the deck guns." Zaniel orders as he leads the T-55 formation at a high speed arc coming up under the bow of the Blood Saber.

"We'll have to remain at max speed to avoid getting hit." Zaphael says.

"I got news for you brother, that's no guarantee, here we go!"

Zaniel and his brother split off as planned targeting the forward deck guns on both sides, they fire on his mark and bank away to get out of range of the remaining guns. Their targets are destroyed but the rest of the ordinance from their squadron fails to destroy the remaining cannons as they begin taking heavy fire.

"Scatter! Reform in groups of five and reacquire new targets." Zaphael says over the comm as he regroups on his brother's wing.

The brothers loop around leading three other Sabres and bare down on top of the Star Destroyer taking aim on the inner aft gun on the port side. They fire again just as Zaniel notices a group of Arc-170's heading toward them.

"Break off." Zaniel says as the next deck gun is blown apart by their torpedoes.

The brothers remain together on each other's wing as a 170 locks on to them about to fire.

"Split up!" Zaphael suggests.

"Belay that Lt." a familiar voice says as one of the black N-1's takes out the 170 from behind. "Continue with your mission, we'll cover you."

"Lt. Sogan." Zaniel says recognizing the voice now. "Are you kidding there's only four of you."

"Not anymore." says Balek over the comm. "Two more of our corvettes just dropped out of hyperspace."

The next corvettes to arrive are the Kessel Runner and the Rampant Rebel. On Balek's orders Kaeon hails them and informs them to deploy N-1's to attack the Imperial fighters.

"Sabre squadron, return to your mission priority when possible. Our ships are dispatching N-1's to cover you per orders from Fleet Commander Balek." Says Captain Rassae over the comm.

"Thanks, we're on it!" Zaniel says as he leads his brother on another approach path back to the port side of the star destroyer. He notices three deck guns already destroyed on the port side just as he hears a scream over the comlink.

"This is Sabre twelve, Sabre fourteen just bought it and I've got 170's all over me!"

Zaphael immediately order Sabres two through four to regroup with twelve and help him out.

"Order the Rampant and the Reaper to move in towards the Blood Saber." Balek says knowing those N-1's won't provide much cover.

As the brothers make another loop behind the destroyer Zaphael notices it is deploying another flight of gunships, this time followed by a group of V-wing fighters as escort. Balek notices it as well as the Pride makes a third pass behind the Blood Saber's command bridge.

"Contact Sgt. Allard, tell them the Imps are sending heavy reinforcements to the surface. They need to extract as soon as possible." orders Balek.

A few of the Sabre's break off trying to blast a few of the gunships before they get too far out of range but they are deterred by the V-wings trailing them.

* * *

Back in the spaceport Tosch and Wurth line up in single file for a strafing run at the clones as Sgt. Allard receives word that more opposition is headed there way.

Tosch steadies his hand on the fire control, since Allard and his men are in such close range, and fires briefly once the clones come into his viewfinder. He takes down several clones but then spots one on his approach firing a shoulder mounted rocket launcher! Tosch banks right as the missile passes behind him.

"Wurth, missile!" he says.

"I see it." Wurth replies coming in after his wingman to strafe the clones.

Unfortunately the clone manning the rocket launcher is not hit by their run, he reloads and fires at the second fighter as it passes over them. The missile locks onto to its target speeding after it; Wurth banks right following his wingman as he hears Tosch report another flight of gunships coming in at their twelve o'clock.

As Tosch opens fire on the gunships that are fast approaching Wurth increases his speed trying to evade the missile still on his tail.

"Roll out." Wurth says coming up on Tosch's port side.

Tosch does as suggested as Wurth approaches head to head with the lead gunship. He fakes a dive then barrel rolls up and over as the missile trailing him collides with the lead gunship! However as the first goes down in flames the next gunships in line open fire on the older fighter craft as it comes out of its roll. Wurth opens fire in return but isn't able to get a bead on them after coming out of the roll and is hit! He executes a dive this time getting out of range of their weapons while he determines how bad that damage is.

"You alright?" asks Tosch through the comlink as he fires on another gunship shredding holes through it.

"Yeah, port stabilizer has been hit." Wurth reports.

"Well you don't have time to make repairs we've got V-wings incoming!" Tosch replies dodging fire from one of the V-wings. "Sgt. Allard you guys better pull out now, the Imps have more gunships inbound and they've sent a fighter escort this time. We're gonna be a little busy up here!"

Already spotting the gunships approaching the cluster of landing bays where the fight has been taking place Allard quickly realizes they may not make it out of this fight alive.

He loads a new power cell into his foldout blaster rifle and resumes fire as he taps the comlink on his forearm. "Master Jedi I sure hope you're about to extract because I don't think we're gonna be able to hold this position for much longer."

He gets no response as two of the gunships come in for landing in the the bay ahead of them, which previously held the rebel fighter craft, as well as the empty bay to their rear. Soon to be surrounded Allard grabs the stick grenade off the back of a dead clone's utility belt and hurls it towards a group of clones. The explosion kills three of four but it doesn't make much difference as the three gunships drop off its troops who are now spilling into the central area of the cluster barking orders.

"Drop your weapons!"

"Don't move!"

"Give it up traitors!"

Blasterfire ceases on both sides for a moment and Allard seriously considers surrendering. Knowing Senator Taneel's ship they brought doesn't have any weapons on it, even if it could get airborne without getting shot down, he sees no way out except death.

Suddenly as several clones start to move towards them to take them into custody a peculiar thing happens. Three of the clones drop their rifles seemingly cut in half, following that a few more lose their heads!

Jori stops to a dead halt facing a large group of clones and pushes out with the Force! Eight to ten of them go flying backwards as Ahsoka comes in attacking the rear squad.

"Fire!" Allard yells to his men realizing that the fight is not over yet. "Terran, I hope you have the ship ready for takeoff!" he says through the comlink.

"She's ready when you are." Terran replies standing on the boarding ramp to guard the ship.

After the Force push Jori ignites her yellow lightsaber deflecting the first of many blaster bolts aimed at her. Sending most of them back into the clones she moves in closer continuing her multilayered attack.

Like her counterpart Ahsoka continues taking on the rear squad using her green blade to deflect blasterfire, striking when in range and kicking or elbowing a clone when finding herself in even closer range.

* * *

Circling the city at high altitude the Nu-class shuttle carrying the magna-troopers and the Clawdite waits for word of the Jedi's location. When they finally receive word from the troops that just landed that the Jedi have arrived and they are now engaging them the pilot starts his descent. He brings the ship down in the next cluster and opens the ramp once they land. The magna-troopers deploy immediately and head for the adjacent cluster where the firefight is taking place.

Meanwhile Commander Rook orders his men to remove the binders on the asset.

"Here, find the Jedi and kill them." Commander Rook says giving the lightsaber to Cato who has already changed her image into the one directed by Admiral Soelin.

Cato grabs the weapon and breaks into a run to keep up with her distraction, the magna-troopers. Rook and his security detail follow as ordered to keep an eye on her and aid in the fight.

* * *

As another three fighters of Sabre squadron are destroyed Zaniel and Zaphael take aim at another deck gun on the Blood Saber They fire in sequence just as a 170 bears down on their tail.

"Incoming!" Zaphael says just as he releases his torpedoes.

The brothers bank away in separate directions as the fire from the deck guns shatters the pursuing 170.

Alright!" Zaniel yells as his ordinance hits the deck gun. "Captain Balek all port side deck guns are history, concentrate all corvette passes on that side!"

"Copy that Lieutenant, thanks." Balek voice crackles back over the comm.

As Balek coordinates strike runs with the other corvettes Kaeon informs him there are two more coming out of hyperspace.

"Fleet Commander Balek this is the Republic Revival reporting for duty, where do you need us sir?" says its Captain.

Balek orders them to continue on their course to the Venator on its six o'clock and hit the engines hard. "Be aware it's starboard side main deck guns are still hot, port side is clear. Who else is out there, over?"

"This is the Howling Gundark, you want us to follow the Revival's lead?"

"Affirmative."

Suddenly Kaeon receives word from one of their corvettes that they're taking heavy fire from a group of 170's. "Captain the Kessel Runner is in trouble!" Kaeon says from the left jump seat behind the pilot.

"Send Sogan's men to cover." Balek says as he hears the reports from the officers on board the corvette.

"Too late, we've lost two engines and we're taking heavy fire!" comes the report from the Captain of the Kessel Runner.

"Captain Oonab just hold out we've got fighters on their way to you." Balek says addressing the Sullustan captain.

As he watches through the viewport Balek spots an explosion at the ships midsection just forward of the engines.

"Hull breach!" reports Nkard over the comm.

"Point her towards that Star Destroyer, if we go they go!" Oonab orders.

"Captain, Nkard!" Balek says trying to dissuade them.

"Gentlemen, ladies," Oonab says addressing his command crew. "It's been an honor." he says as the Venator looms closer through the viewport.

* * *

"We have incoming above us!" reports a crewman on the bridge of the Blood Saber.

Major Mepone, who was noticing something on radar at that instant, looks out the forward viewport spotting the rebel corvette in flames headed straight for them! He quickly grabs Soelin by his jacket and moves to evacuate, seeing the situation Major Duklaa follows. As they run for the turbolifts Mepone risks a glance backwards and notices the corvette missing the bridge but flying downwards past the viewport hitting the base of the spire.

The ship shudders violently from the impact as the corvette smashes it way into the Venator.

"Mepone to hangar bay control," He says on his comlink. "prep the Admiral's shuttle for immediate evacuation!"

* * *

Watching the ship explode into the Venator Balek closes his eyes briefly saying a prayer for his friend Nkard. Meanwhile Kaeon solemnly informs him there were at least fifteen rebels aboard the Kessel Runner.

"Continue our assault." Balek says knowing there's nothing he can do about it now.

* * *

"Fools!" Soelin yells as he stumbles to the floor from the shockwave.

"Admiral your shuttle, we must get to it before the ship explodes!" Mepone says helping him up as Duklaa summons a turbolift.

"Where do you think we can go, we've failed!"

"No Admiral, just before that corvette came in I noticed ident signals for Havoc's Cry and the Krayt's Tooth coming out of hyperspace!" Mepone says. "We can still crush these rebels."

As they run down the corridor Mepone orders the Havoc's Cry to send fighters to see the Admiral's shuttle safely to their bays.

* * *

From the bridge of the Pride of the Jedi Balek cannot miss the sight of the two additional Venators coming of hyperspace behind the Blood Saber.

"Oh, we're in so much trouble." is all he can say.


	34. Engaging the Jedi

Jori and Ahsoka continue to slug it out with the clones at the spaceport, whittling them down one by one. While her concentration is diverted a clone takes aim at Jori and fires, the blaster bolt grazes her left bicep.

"Jori!" Ahsoka says feeling her distress in the Force.

Ahsoka Force jumps over to her position splitting the clone in half that shot her.

Seeing the cloaked Jedi regroup with the other Allard turns to fire on the last few clones from the rear group just as a member of his team is hit from the front.

"Malford!" Allard yells.

He takes out the last three clones on their six o'clock then runs over to check on his comrade, however he finds the shot he sustained was fatal.

"It's okay, I'm fine." Jori says standing up and resuming her attack.

"We've almost got 'em whipped." Ahsoka says as they attempt to finish off the last few clones.

Suddenly Jori spots a group of magna-troopers running towards them. "Oh poodoo, here comes trouble."

"More of these guys, they can't be serious." Ahsoka says taking down one of the last few regular troopers.

Jori hears Allard order his men to take aim on the magna-troopers but she orders him to head for the ship. "Lady Harke and her team are waiting for extraction on the observation deck, you need to get to them."

Six magna-troopers run towards her and Ahsoka, Jori takes the first one by surprise, bending low to block the incoming strike as she takes the clone's leg off. She Force flips over him blocking a strike from another one of the electro staffs; she lands next to Ahsoka who takes one down as well.

Realizing how advanced these new clones are Allard doesn't waste time arguing with the Jedi. "You heard her lets go!" As his men cover him Allard picks up his comrade's body and they head for the shuttle.

* * *

Pax finds the alternate stairwell and bursts through the door with his carbine ready; he looks down then up as the other three clones file in behind him taking positions a few steps below and above him. He holds up his right arm in a fist stopping them in their tracks and puts a finger to his lips calling for quiet. Pax removes his helmet slowly and sets it on the floor so he can hear more clearly.

Several flights above Lt. Webt urges the others to stop and stay against the wall after hearing a noise from below. Unwilling to risk a glance down the stairwell Webt remains hopeful that the clones didn't hear them or that it was possibly just some civilian using the stairs; either way they remain completely still waiting for sounds of further movement.

"Do you think they heard us?" Harke whispers, barely audible.

Hearing the breathing more than the words Pax grins realizing his hunch was right, he leans into the stairwell and fires upwards.

Webt looks at Harke in response and says, "Yes milady, I believe so."

"Move!" Yaren says grabbing Harke by the arm and leading her upwards as Webt fires a few rounds downstairs.

As Pax moves up a few steps trying to spot his prey he hears a voice on his comlink crackle to life; the unknown clone reports that the Jedi have arrived at the spaceport and begun engaging the troops there.

"I knew it, the rebel scum are up there alone." He says to his brothers as he brings up the rear. "Move it!"

Webt continues trading fire with his stolen carbine and his slide-out blaster as the clones begin climbing the steps to catch up with them.

"Cale, c'mon!" calls Yaren from two stories up.

"I hope the Jedi have a ship waiting for us when we get up there." Webt says finally hurrying to catch up to the others.

When they finally reach the observation deck Harke and Yaren spread out checking the skies and nearby buildings looking for a ship. Moments later Webt appears as well.

"Anything?" he asks.

"No, nothing." Harke says.

"Maybe they left us." Yaren suggests.

"No I don't believe that." Harke argues.

"Maybe they were killed or delayed engaging more clones." Yaren replies.

"Either way we have clones coming up on our six!" Webt says checking the power cell on his carbine. "Yaren how's your power cell?

"Maybe enough for two shots."

"Great, only shoot at what you can hit; Consul you'd better stay back." Webt suggests.

Taking the Lieutenant's suggestion Lamara backs up to the railing facing perpendicular to the entryway and draws Fynner's blaster pistol from her pocket.

Webt reloads the small power cell on his slide-out blaster with the spare he carried with him and slides it back underneath his wrist guard as he and Yaren take opposite side of the entryway waiting for the clones to charge through.

* * *

As he rejoins his brother in formation Zaphael spots the Howling Mynock maneuvering just off the port bow of the Havoc's Cry. He hails the Mynock as the Star Destroyer begins moving to port to fire on them.

"Sabre 1 to Howling Mynock, that Star Destroyer is about to fire on you. Bank hard to port to draw their fire onto the Blood Saber!" Zaniel says over the comlink.

"Copy that!" Replies its captain. "Do what he says." he tells the pilot.

"But Commander that will put us right in front of the Blood Saber's remaining starboard deck guns." The pilot replies.

"Just do it!" the captain says pushing the throttle forward. "Be ready to roll off on my mark. Now!"

The pilot puts the Howling Mynock into a tight roll to port. The guns from the Havoc's Cry miss the corvette puncturing through the Blood Saber's hull along the bow penetrating just deep enough to compromise the main hangar bay.

"All Sabre's fire torpedoes on the Blood Saber now!" Balek orders knowing this is their chance to finish off the Venator.

One by one every rebel fighters turns its sights on the Blood Saber firing their torpedoes.

* * *

Having escaped the main hangar just moments before it was struck by the Havoc's deck guns Soelin and his officers watch through the viewport as the Blood Saber is torn to pieces from the subsequent blows it has taken in the last few minutes.

As the Blood Saber breaks apart none of the rebels cheer as fresh fighters, followed by gunships, are already deploying from the newest two Venators to have arrived. They simply return their focus to the battle at hand hoping to live to see another day.

Once Soelin's shuttle is secured aboard the Havoc's Cry port side hangar, he, Mepone and Duklaa walk towards the bridge as they notice through the viewports the wreckage that once the Blood Saber. When they step onto the bridge the Captain stands at attention to report. Before he can even begin to explain or apologize for shooting the Blood Saber by mistake Soelin draws his pistol firing a round into his head.

"Somebody remove this refuge!" Soelin says angrily as he takes command of the ship. "What is the status of my magna-troopers?"

Mepone quickly takes over the comm station punching in the frequency for Commander Rook's comlink and asks for a report. After receiving a report from Rook he informs Soelin they've just begun to engage the Jedi.

"And Cato?"

"She's headed towards the Jedi now." Mepone replies.

"Good."

* * *

The first deck gun on the Havoc's Cry is taken out as three more Sabre's go down in flames.

"We're not gonna last much longer!" Zaphael says destroying a 170 in front of him.

"Stick with it!" Zaniel replies as he takes count of the squadron, however his brother beats him to it.

"There's only eight of us left." Zaphael adds.

"Don't forget the N-1's." Zaniel reminds him.

"Yeah and there were only eight of those to begin with!"

"Stay on the Venators backsides so we can concentrate on their fighters." Zaniel suggests.

Balek hears Zaniel's suggestion and orders the corvettes to do the same but realizes the Imp fighters alone may be enough to finish them off. A moment later he's told another one of Sogan's pilots were killed. "Those reinforcement T-55's better get here soon or we're done for."

* * *

Jori and Ahsoka remain back to back as the magna-troopers encircle them. Jori Force pushes two back and moves to strike a third up his chest then redirects her attention at two more behind her. Ahsoka, while missing her shoto now more than ever, still holds her own against them. Guiding one of the clones electro staffs she blocks into another's nearby she then disengages the first slicing him horizontally through the midsection.

Suddenly they hear a lightsaber being ignited as they see the green skinned hooded Mirialan female walking towards them with a blue blade.

"Barriss!?" Ahsoka says shocked.

"Ahsoka on your left!" Jori yells warning her of the incoming strike.

Ahsoka cartwheels out of range from the strike then blocks, parries and impales the clone through his back. She turns back to Barriss while engaging another magna-trooper. "Barriss what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see to your death, it's been a long time hasn't it." Cato says recognizing Ahsoka as her captor when she was arrested inside the Jedi Temple two years ago.

"Not long enough since I learned you betrayed me!" Ahsoka spits back as she takes out another magna-trooper.

Cato just ignores the remark figuring that the Togruta must have had history with the person's form she was using. How ironic Cato thought, that Soelin would pick a Jedi that this Torgruta would recognize. Then again Soelin didn't tell her whether he'd identified either of the three Jedi he mentioned. In the end it was irrelevant, so long as Soelin kept his word and she earned her freedom. "Ready to die?" she says to the Togruta.

"That's not gonna happen," Ahsoka says looking to Jori. "divide and conquer!"

Knowing what she meant by their encounter with the Kel-Dor bounty hunter, Jori Force flips over Barriss putting their opponent between them while the remaining magna-troopers continue to surround them. Barriss presses her attack moving faster and more fiercely but the Clawdite impersonator is no match for two seasoned Jedi Knights. Cato does her best to keep up the attack though. Clashing the blue lightsaber back and forth between the Togruta's green blade and the human's yellow one as the magna-troopers continue to strike at them from behind.

"Barriss, why are you doing this?" Jori asks blocking a strike from her.

"Don't bother trying to get through to her Jori." Ahsoka says blocking an electro staff. "She only follows the dark side now because she was too afraid to be a Jedi! I guess she never learned that fear is the path to the dark side."

"Speaking of which, these clones never learn do they." Jori says blocking another strike from an electro staff then one from Barriss' lightsaber.

"They sure don't and you want to know something else . . ."

"Yeah?" Jori replies.

Ahsoka holds a block against Barriss' blue blade and looks into her eyes. "You're not Barriss Offee!"

Cato's eyes widen realizing she's in trouble. Jori takes out another magna-trooper then in the same stroke stabs the imposter through the back just as Ahsoka had disarmed her of the blade! Jori quickly uses the Force and pushes back the last four magna-troopers flinging them to the ground as Barriss' image changes.

"Cato!" Ahsoka says.

"You know this one too?" Jori says backing up beside her fellow Jedi as she deflects incoming blasterfire from a small team of clones.

Ahsoka sends back a bolt herself as she explains she arrested the changeling two years ago on Coruscant.

The four remaining magna-troopers get to their feet and continue their attack with Commander Rook and his team at their side. Suddenly several more gunships arrive deploying more troops, some land and deploy on the ground, others hover in the air as the clones slide down on ropes. Dozens pour into the landing bay where the fight with Cato and the magna-troopers had carried them.

As the girls weigh the odds stacked against them Jori takes a calming breath and then turns to Ahsoka. "You ready for more?"

"Not really . . . . but if I'm gonna go, at least I will go with a friend." Ahsoka says flashing Jori a quick smile.

Defiantly Jori says, "We're not done for yet."


	35. Reinforcements

Tosch banks hard to starboard letting a pursuing V-wing overshoot him, he lines up the craft in his sights and fires destroying it. "Got another!" he says.

"What are you keeping track?" Wurth replies firing on one particular V-wing he's been dogging with no success.

"No, by the way I'm not sure leading these guys into the city was a good idea, there are innocent civilians here."

"It's not like we had much of a choice Tosch." Wurth reminds him as he finally destroys his target. "Man that one was a tough ole bugger! Where are you buddy?"

Having been separated earlier after leading the V-wings into the city he hears Tosch gives his location. Wurth banks left between two buildings to regroup when he spots four V-wings approaching from an adjacent vector!

Suddenly Tosch hears his wingman over the comlink requesting backup immediately. Wurth's old Y-70 Nebula fighter had already had its share of wear and tear before the battle but as his starboard engine is hit the V-wings gain on him quickly closing in for the kill

"Where are you Wurth, I can't see you!" Tosch says shaking off a V-wing from his own tail.

"I'm headed east out of the government district, starboard engine has been hit!"

"That's open sky Wurth, don't try outrunning them just outfly 'em!" Tosch suggests. Suddenly he spots the Nebula fighter just as it breaks out the Faspen City skyline. "I see you Wurth! Bank hard to port so you can close the distance between us!"

He watches as his wingman follows his instructions leading the V-wings directly to him. Tosch throttles up and takes aim at the first target that comes within range. He destroys it as Wurth and the remaining targets pass under him as he pulls up to circle around.

"Sithspawn! My starboard engine is on fire. I can't maintain my speed!"

"I'm here Wurth just hang on!" Tosch says taking out the next V-wing as he hears the fear and distress in his friend's voice. He rolls away from the wreckage just as the lead V-wing fires again on Wurth. The starboard engine on the old Nebula fighter explodes just seconds before Tosch fires on the V-wing.

"Wurth!" Tosch screams as he watches the ship hit the ground in a fiery explosion.

With no time to grieve Tosch takes out another V-wing just as several others regroup concentrating now solely on him! He heads back into the relative cover of the city as canon fire streaks across his cockpit viewport nonstop.

When he approaches the edge of the city spotting the spaceport ahead he increases his altitude to come in low for a strafing run. Having heard Sgt. Allard report over the comm that they were airborne a few minutes ago but the Jedi were still there covering their escape Tosch figures he might be able to lend a hand. With V-wings still on his tail it was risky but as he approaches the landing bay cluster where the ship was he notices several airborne gunships arriving! Luckily they don't see him until it's too late. He fires a short burst from his guns at the mass of clones on the ground then dives low flying underneath one gunship as it prepares to land.

The clone V-wing pilots break off in all directions spotting the rebel recklessly flying through the gunships. One such pilot is unable to alter his course in time and collides with a gunship that was about to deploy troops via ropes.

* * *

Jori and Ahsoka notice a dozen or more clones go down from cannon fire as the same Wingstar ship passes overhead they realize the pilot is still looking out for them. Although they both know he won't likely be able to return as they see V-wing fighters form up to pursue him.

"Told you we're not done for yet." Jori says deflecting a blaster bolt back to a clone.

"Yeah but we're far from being in the clear." Ahsoka replies impaling another magna-trooper.

* * *

Pax and his men ascend the final flight of stairs and begin to blast their way through the observation deck entryway.

Having more than several shots left available Webt fires back with his DC-15 carbine as they charge towards him.

Yaren waits for a clean shot as instructed and hits the lead clone square in the chest but misses her second shot and it ricochets off the wall. She disappears out of sight from the clones and draws her vibrorapiers waiting to strike.

Webt fires again scoring a hit through the next clone's shoulder as he passes through the entryway but it doesn't stop him. He aims to fire again but the weapon goes click, signaling it's either misfired or out of power! In such close proximity the clone rushes Webt, who didn't have enough time to draw his slide-out blaster, tackling him to the floor.

As the third clone rushes through Yaren swings downwards with her vibrorapier; however having seen her duck beside the entryway after blasting one of his brothers the clone is ready for her. He positions his DC-15 rifle to block the sword strike he knows is coming, while the rapier cuts right through the weapon it buys the clone the distraction he needs to get on her flank. Dropping the section of rifle from his left hand he grabs Yaren's right wrist holding the rapier and slugs her upside the head with the rifle section in his right hand! Yaren staggers backwards from the blow seeing stars but feels the clone's grip still on her right wrist, she uses his weight to pull herself up from her impending fall and stabs him through his shoulder with the shorter rapier! The clone releases his grasp of her staggering backwards a few steps. At the same time Yaren sees Pax walk through the entryway and makes an over arcing swing at him with both hands tightly gripping the weapon.

* * *

"Concentrate fire on that corvette!" Mepone orders spotting the incoming ship.

While the corvette makes another pass at the bridge deflector shield Mepone watches as the port side deck guns fail epically to hit their target.

Soelin watches with pride as his executive officer jumps into the port side crew pit, removes the headset comms from the radar scope operator and hovers over the station to coordinate with the forward port side gunnery crew. Feeding them precise instructions and coordinates while watching the scope Mepone orders the gunners to fire on his mark. The single battery blasts away this time hitting their intended target!

* * *

Balek hears the report over the comm from the Howling Mynock immediately after it is rattled violently by the turbolaser.

"Shields are gone, two engines down!"

"Divert all power to the last engine, get us of here!" orders the Mynock's captain.

* * *

"All port batteries fire!" Mepone orders almost yelling.

The deck guns open up on the previously established coordinates launching a salvo of cannon fire at the Corvette blowing it to pieces!

"You might have your own battle group just yet Major!" Soelin says as Mepone looks up at him from the crew pit smiling. "At the level of incompetence our current officers are displaying I have no doubt.

Realizing it wasn't a compliment Mepone's smile fades away.

* * *

Balek turns his head with his eyes closed at seeing another corvette go up in flames. "We're not gonna last much longer." he says under his breath.

With all guns blazing forward and aft, dorsal and belly the remaining corvettes begin taking the worst punishment.

"Captain I have multiple ships coming out of hyperspace behind the Star Destroyers!" Kaeon reports.

At first Balek thinks it is more Imperial ships. "How many?" He looks at Kaeon who is counting the blips on the scope. Suddenly he notices a huge smile cross his executive officer's face.

"A fodder load Sir, it's Kesaro!"

* * *

On board the Havoc's Cry an officer informs Soelin of the incoming ships as Mepone returns to the main bridge deck. At first Soelin assumes its more Imperial reinforcements but once he's told they are more enemy fighters he becomes livid with disbelief.

* * *

"Fleet Commander Balek, this is _Rebel_ Commander Cin Kesaro . . ."

As part of the plan Kesaro was instructed, via Harke's message which included the mission strategy, to refrain from identifying himself or his flight group as part of Ryndori. In order to pull off the ruse that Ryndori was not connected to the rebellion all of their pilots, as well as Consul Harke's team, were given the instructions to do the same in the event the Imperials were listening in to their comm chatter.

Before arriving at the scene of the battle Captain Rassae, of the Rampant Rebel, issued Major Garan's explicit orders that Lt. Covell scramble the battle group's comm frequency specifically so the Empire couldn't listen in. Also that he slice into the Imperial frequency so he could keep tabs on what they were up to. Garan had plenty of faith in Covell's talents but he knew the Empire had their own slicers as well.

". . . sorry if we're a little late but we had a long way to travel." Kesaro says. "I've got three squadrons of T-55's ready for a fight, where do you want us?"

"You got here right when we needed you most Commander, I want two of your squadrons harassing the Star Destroyer Havoc's Cry. Unload every torpedo you've got on it, the last squadron I need running interference on the Imp fighters." Balek orders as he turns to Kaeon. "Move us out of range of the Venator's guns and order the other corvettes to do the same."

"Yes Captain.

As the technical data filters into the new Sabre's heads up displays designating both friendly and enemy ships Kesaro orders his droid to throw all power into the forward shields.

"You heard the fleet commander boys! Razor Squadron and Lightning Squadron you take the Havoc's Cry. Cobalt we're gonna hit those fighters. Everyone lock a bandit when in range and fire."

Noticing their reinforcements headed their way fast the brothers pull up leading their squad out of the main dogfight as Cobalt squadron lines up wing to wing choosing their targets.

"Let 'em have it!" Kesaro says over the comlink.

Two dozen Arc-170's explode all across the battle zone as the Sabre's punch their way into the fray hard.

"Let's light 'em up!" Zaphael says after they turn around to rejoin the fight.

"Hammer down!" Zaniel says as he flies at full speed with the trigger down, his repeater cannons blasting away at a pair of V-wings. He orders R9 to let him know if Zaphael's fighter is hit. "Stay on my starboard side Zaph.

"How can anyone fly through this!" he replies nearly colliding with a 170.

"After the Lightning Squadron makes their next pass move back in range over the Havoc's Cry and fire on their bridge!" Balek says from the jump seat behind the copilot.

"We've lost our main dorsal gun Captain!" Kaeon says as they continue to shoot through the mesh of Imp fighters that have continued to harass them.

"Then order the Rampant to follow us in, have the Reaper and the Revival form up for a pass after us on a separate vector."

"Copy that Captain." Kaeon replies as he relays the orders.

The Pride and the Rampant move in together on each other's wing from directly above the Havoc's Cry and open fire on the dual bridges as they pass.

"All guns to forward position." Balek says over the Pride's PA system.

"Slag 'em!" Kaeon says as they deliver a pounding the bridge deflector shields.

* * *

Having spotted one of his brothers step backwards into view with the sword run through his shoulder, Pax also anticipates the strike from the handmaiden. He somersaults on the floor, underneath the deadly blade, and comes up on his feet aiming his carbine at her.

Remembering that Pax still has a blaster in his hand Yaren grabs the handle of her shoto, still impaled through the other clone's shoulder, and pulls him into Pax's line of sight as he fires. The blast hits the clone in the back finishing him off as Yaren closes the distance to Pax swiping at his carbine with her sword. Pax is about to take aim again but seeing the incoming strike from the vibrorapier he removes his grip on the barrel and tries to fire one handed. The rapier shears right through the carbine before he can pull the trigger though. Pax drops the useless weapon and grabs one of Yaren's hands still holding the sword and delivers a left hook to her face.

Meanwhile Harke keeps both hands on her pistol aiming it back and forth between each clone her friends are fighting just waiting for a clean shot. She shifts her sight back to Webt as he struggles on the floor with his opponent.

After hitting the floor from the tackle both Webt and his opponent's carbine go sliding across the floor, one of the weapons falls over the edge of the observation deck as the other stops just short of it. Webt scrambles on the floor with the clone trying to acquire the upper hand. With the clone's injury to his shoulder Webt is finally able to get on top of the clone and pin one arm down with his knee. He knocks the clones helmet off and begins punching him in the face. Suddenly he hears Yaren's groan as she is slugged by Pax. He hits his opponent once more stunning him then gets to his feet and runs to tackle Pax. The clone gets to his feet to counterattack but with her line of sight clear Lamara fires her pistol leaving just Pax as their only opposition.

Pax staggers but remains on his feet as Webt tries to tackle him; using his opponent's momentum he throws Webt to the floor. He looks up just as Yaren comes in with her sword. He backpedals dodging the strike as she kicks out with her right leg. He catches her ankle and tries to sweep her other leg but she angles her toes inwards letting gravity pull her into a splits then rolls out of the fray.

Webt comes back at him again landing a right cross but the blow doesn't faze him much. Pax takes his eyes off the young rebel for a second to deliver a short kick to the handmaiden as she attempts to get back to her feet. The distraction gains him another blow to the face but Pax still isn't deterred. With the handmaiden temporarily out of the fight Pax positions himself in front of Webt knowing that Lady Harke is back there waiting to pick him off at the first chance. He takes a quick notice of his surrounds noticing one of his brothers DC-15 carbines laying on the ground nearby as he dodges a few jabs from the rebel. Seeing his opportunity after dodging another swing from Webt, Pax hits his opponent hard with a left hook then rolls across the floor towards the carbine.

Harke fires but misses as Pax comes up on his feet grabbing the carbine by the barrel though and flings it towards her. The weapon hits her knocking the pistol out of her hand as it and the carbine fall over the edge. Finding himself a few yards away from Pax, Webt activates the the slide-out blaster under his wrist guard. Pax spots him motioning for the small blaster and runs towards him knocking the pistol off its slide rail and from his grasp. It slides along the floor halfway between them and Harke.

"You want to know how I got my name?" Pax says grabbing Webt by his tunic and delivering a strong punch to his face.

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me." Webt says, his stamina fading.

"I like to fight and I don't mean just combat, I box in my down time. My brothers, other sentients, professionals, even my Jedi general during the war after challenging him to a match. He was one of the more unorthodox of the Jedi but they all walked away saying _he sure packs a punch_!" He hits Webt again just as he notices Harke going for the slide-out pistol. He drops Webt and turns around to grab the handmaiden, lifting her off the ground "Drop it!" he demands threatening to throw Yaren over the side!

Harke quickly exchanges a look with Webt who is still on the floor, then finally drops the weapon at her feet.

"Kick it over here and don't even think about making a move for it kid." Pax says looking at Webt. "Otherwise I'll drop her!"

Harke does as instructed kicking the weapon across the floor, however it stops well short of Pax. Webt closely watches his enemy for signs of movement as they all remain still.

"Hmph . . . you rebels, you're so gullible." Pax says with a sneer as he lifts Yaren up and over the railing.

Yaren is able to get in an elbow to his face as she's lifted just over the rail, at the same time Webt makes for the railing hoping to save Yaren before falling to her death. He slides to the edge of the deck just under the railing and grabs Yaren's hand, he repositions himself placing his feet against the railing struts to brace himself as he pulls her up.

After getting elbowed in the face Pax released the handmaiden and goes for the slide-out pistol the same time Harke does. She's about to reach it before him so instead of going for it himself he runs straight into her with his shoulder putting all his weight behind the blow. Blindsided she falls backwards along the floor. With his momentum carrying him forward passed the gun, Pax heads straight for Harke intending to put an end to the fight.

Meanwhile Webt almost has Yaren back over the edge when she hears her mistress groaning as she is thrown to the floor. Seeing Pax hover over Lamara like a predator she spots the small pistol laying on the ground between them and looks at Webt.

"Cale, push me."

"What?" Webt says grunting to hang on to her.

"Put your feet on my stomach and push me over your head!" she says almost barking the order.

Webt does as instructed placing his boots together on her torso, he does a half sit-up and rolls back pushing her up and over him with his legs. Yaren plants her hands outward grabbing the pistol with one hand and rolling into a somersault. She comes up in a crouch and fires on Pax, the light blaster bolt seemingly ricochets off his shoulder armor as he turns around towards her angrily. Seeing her handmaiden with the weapon in hand Harke dives to the ground out of the way as Yaren fires again and again. The low charged bolts bounce off his chest armor slowing him but not stopping him. Yaren takes aim again and fires this time shooting right through his throat! Pax gurgles something incomprehensible as he stumbles backwards towards the railing, Harke sticks out a foot tripping him up which sends over it falling to his death!

Beaten, bloody and wary Yaren walks over to help her mistress to her feet. "Are you alright milady?

"A little worse for wear but otherwise alright, thank you." Harke says embracing her old friend. "How are you?

"I'll live, milady."

"I'm fine by the way." Offers Webt, also showing several cuts and bruises, as he gets to his feet to join them. Yaren walks over and hands him back the slide-out pistol. "Thanks."

"Thank you, you saved my life." Yaren says offering a smile.

"It was my pleasure, we'd better grab whatever functional weapons are laying around and get out of here while we can." Webt suggests. "Just in case we run into more troopers."

"I don't think that will be an issue Lieutenant." Says Harke looking out into the skyline. She points their attention skywards where they spot Senator Taneel's shuttle approaching.

Yaren quickly retrieves her swords as Webt grabs the last working DC-15 carbine from first clone that was shot in the entryway.

Terran brings the ship around to the edge of the observation deck and hovers in place and hits the switch for the boarding ramp. As it the ramp lowers underneath the engine housing Sgt. Allard steps out onto the ramp extending a hand to help the new passengers aboard.

"Lady Harke, I think it's time we get you out of here." Allard says seeing the two clone bodies strewn about.

Yaren and Webt help Harke step up onto the railing, she takes Allard's hand stepping onto the ramp as he pulls her up.

"Thank you Sergeant." Harke says receiving a nod in return.

One of Allard's men sees her safely inside to a seat as Yaren hops up next unassisted, she turns around extending a hand to Webt who smiles and gladly takes it. Once they are all aboard Allard closes the ramp and orders Terran, via his comlink, to take them out.

"Where are the Jedi?" Harke asks Allard noticing they are not aboard.

Allard takes a seat next to her as he feels the ship moving again. "They're still at the spaceport as far as I know. They were engaging some new kind of clone unit when we left, they bought us enough time to take off an come get you." He explains.

"Well we have to go back for them."

"Negative, after we left I heard from Captain Balek in flight that two more Star Destroyers appeared over the planet. They've certainly dispatched more troops to the spaceport by now."

"We can't just leave them to their fate . . ."

"Milady as much as I agree with you this ship has no weapons on it, if we go back we'd surely be shot down!." Allard says interrupting her.

While she hates the thought of leaving the Jedi to die she realizes Allard is speaking the truth.

Allard goes to the cockpit and mans the comm station to call for their escort. "Lt. Judson, Lt. Crake this is Rebel One do you copy?" he says using the ship's mission designation. "We're ready for extraction proceed to our position for escort." The comm crackles for a moment before Tosch's voice replies back.

"I'm a little busy right now besides I _reeeally_ don't think you want me to head for your position, I've got Imp V-wings all over me!"

"Where's your wingman?" Allard asks.

It is a long moment before he hears the reply. "He didn't make it."

"Copy that Lt, do what you can." Allard says switching over to the fleet's comm frequency. "Captain Balek this is Rebel One. The package is on board and we are extracting now but the Jedi are still on the ground at the spaceport and our lone escort is under heavy fire, over." Receiving no response for a minute Allard is about to re-transmit when he finally hears Balek's voice come over the comm.

"Copy Rebel One, extraction flight is inbound now with cover."

"Understood Pride, much appreciated." Allard says then walks back into the main cabin to inform Lady Harke.

* * *

"Sabre leader take what's left of your squadron, escort the Jedi extraction team and assist Rebel One's escort." Balek orders.

"With pleasure, let's go Zaph."

"What do you have a thing for this Jedi or something?" Zaphael says jokingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sabre flights follow our lead." Zaniel says into the comm suddenly aware that he's smiling.


	36. Rook to Knight

"All rebel ships we will be pulling out shortly, lock in the following coordinates for our escape jump on my mark." Balek orders. "N-1 pilots, peel back and regroup with the corvettes to be ready to link up with your booster rigs."

* * *

The fresh clones pour into the mouth of the landing bay as Jori and Ahsoka continue to hold their ground. Jori deflects a series of blaster bolts from Commander Rook, using dual pistols, and Force pushes him back against the landing bay wall.

With the Jedi's attention back on their front Rook adjusts his helmet noticing Cato's body next to him. Suddenly he spots the lightsaber laying on the ground a few feet in front of her. He holsters his right blaster and grabs the Jedi weapon running straight for them!

Jori hears the blade being being ignited as Rook comes back at her firing a blaster in his left hand and swings the blue blade with his right. She steps back two paces letting him miss then blocks two consecutive strikes when he aims the pistol at her again. She leans back out of the way as Rook fires hitting the last magna-trooper, who was trying to coming in from behind, square in the chest!

Seeing that she made him shoot one of his brothers Rook jumps towards her angrily bringing the lightsaber down over his head.

Jori blocks then disarms him of the lightsaber cutting through his right hand, as well as the hilt. When he stumbles backwards she spins around decapitating him!

"Agh!"

Jori hears Ahsoka groan as her upper left leg is grazed by blasterfire. She Force jumps in front of her helping her up as she twirls her lightsaber deflecting as many blasts as possible.

She's about to attack the nearest trooper a few feet away when they are all strafed by an incoming ship. She looks up assuming the Wingstar is back but instead she sees the surprise of her life as the Arawak comes in to land with its guns blazing!

Gleim, his unit and the escort Sabre's soar into the spaceport locking onto the gunships taking them down and strafing the clones out of existence!

"C'mon we gotta move!" Jori says grabbing Ahsoka to clear out of the middle of the landing bay.

* * *

"Don't set her down Xafus, just bring her in close enough to get them on board!" Gleim orders.

"You got it!"

With the Arawak hovering a few feet over the landing grid Gleim flies out of his seat grabbing his shotblaster and opens the port side hatch; where he sees his friend Jori Kai in the flesh. He fires on a few of the nearest clones as they try in vain to kill the Jedi.

"Gleim!" Jori says excitedly as she and Ahsoka Force jump up to the port hatch.

"I gotta bone to pick with you later kid, get inside!" Xafus punch it!" Gleim says as he pumps his shotblaster and fires on another clone before closing the hatch. "Xafus punch it!"

As the freighter group pulls out the T-55's begin gunning down the remaining V-wings.

"We'll keep the remaining fighters busy Gleim." Zaniel says through his comlink.

"It's about time you guys showed up!" Tosch says through the comm as he leads a pack of V-wings back towards the spaceport again.

"Tosch you've got one on your tail, move off!" Zaniel says locking onto the V-wing.

" _One_!?" Tosch replies incredulously as he splinters off.

Zaniel fires but his first attempt fails; he re-aims at the V-wing just as it fires at the Wingstar. The blast takes off Tosch's port tail which causes him to spin lazily out of control. Zaniel takes aim again and fires hitting the V-wing this time, he makes his way up to Tosch as he regains control of his fighter.

"Tosch you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll make it."

"Where's Wurth?"

Zaniel is saddened when Tosch tells him the news. Suddenly he spots the last few V-wings form up wing to wing heading back towards them.

"Alright boys, let's plow the road!" Zaniel says as he, Tosch and the others open fire taking down every last V-wing before they can score another hit.

They form up behind the freighter unit as they see Rebel One join the group, which had been waiting for an escort out.

Harke is relieved when she hears confirmation from Allard that the Jedi were safely extracted and aboard one of the freighters on their wing.

"Captain Balek this is Sabre leader, we have both packages wrapped and are exiting the planet's atmosphere as we speak." Zaniel says.

"That's good news Lt, I'm sending you coordinates for our escape jump into hyperspace now."

* * *

Kesaro takes out another 170 as the two on his tail are blown to bits by a couple of his wingmen.

"Keep it up boys I think we're starting to scare them!" Kesaro adds.

"Flight leaders this is Fleet Commander Balek, the mission is complete. Fire any last torpedoes at the Havoc's Cry and prepare to make the jump to hyperspace!" Balek turns to Kaeon and orders him and the other corvettes to deploy the N-1 booster rigs.

"You heard him men, unload everything you have on it!" Kesaro says firing a full spread of torpedoes at the Venator.

* * *

"Throw all power to the shields!" Soelin orders as the rebel fighters begin bombarding the ship on all sides with their proton torpedoes. "Mepone give me an update on the Jedi." Soleil demands.

"I'm getting reports that the Jedi have been extracted and Cato, the magna-troopers, Commander Rook, his team and many of their reinforcements are all dead!" Mepone replies.

"Blast those kriffing rebels!"

* * *

"All rebel ships jump on my mark, 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . now!" Balek says as one after another the entire fleet jumps to lightspeed.

* * *

Once in hyperspace on board the Arawak Gleim turns around in his seat and looks at Jori with an unreadable expression on his face.

While she can't read his mind Jori knows what he's probably thinking. "I'm sorry Gleim, Garan faked my funeral. I didn't recover until a few days later." Jori replies.

Gleim says nothing for a moment almost looking angry as he flies over to her and suddenly wraps his little arms around her.

Realizing what this means for him; never getting to say goodbye to Ryaan she is a little surprised when she feels the tears begin to stream down her face. She still hadn't quite accepted the fact that her master was gone either, she'd had so much to keep her mind occupied since then that she never really dwelled on it much.

"He's gone Gleim." she whimpers.

"I know." Gleim replies pulling back wiping a tear of his own away.

"So how did you even find out abo . . ." Jori stops and turns around to see Ez-6 already attending to Ahsoka's injured leg.

"I'm sorry mistress Jori, I thought it was important that he knew." Eazee replies.

"I'm not mad I just don't understand how your command subroutines allowed you break protocol to release that information." Jori says.

"One of my special modifications." Gleim says returning to his seat. "I gave her free will." Gleim replies.

"How did you know where I was though, did Major Garan just come out and tell you?" Jori asks.

"He did when I asked him, after Eazee told me she saw you on Agamar I contacted him and demanded he tell me where you were. So where are we headed?"

Smiling Jori asks if he can take them to Naboo.

"What's on Naboo?"

"Solitude." Ahsoka says answering for Jori.

"By the way I never got your friend's name." Gleim says to Jori.

"Don't bother asking, she won't give it to you." Jori says flashing Ahsoka a teasing smile.

"Suit yourself. So finally going into exile huh?" Gleim asks as Eazee finishes the dressing on the Togruta and walks over to treat Jori's arm.

Jori tells them they were already exiled on Naboo when Zaniel Brath came looking for them to help. A few moments later the ship comes out of hyperspace in the mid rim. He changes course for Naboo and reenters hyperspace, he then asks if he ever knew what came about Ranik's son. Jori tells him once she recovered she searched for him and that Ahsoka had possibly seen him.

"Possibly?" Gleim asks.

"Well I never met the kid, nor his father so I didn't know what he looked like. He split as I was ambushed by more of those clones using the electro staffs." Ahsoka explains.

"That's too bad." Gleim says as he confesses to Jori that he saw Ranik killed by Vader. "I should have left the ship on the ground, that way once the Imps showed up at least I could have picked him up and split."

"Ranik wouldn't have left without his son Gleim, you didn't do anything wrong." Jori says comforting him. "Have you run into any other Jedi since then?"

Gleim tells her he has not but that if he ever does he'll be sure to help them out or put them in touch with her, with her permission of course.

* * *

After a thirty minute trip through hyperspace the Rebel fleet reverts back to real space to make damage assessments and take account of their losses. Once everyone sounds off the count is reported to Balek which comes in at forty-seven T-55's that survived the battle, most of which were Kesaro's reinforcements. Out of those eighteen took hits but were still operational; of Lt. Sogan's original squadron only five remained, two corvettes were lost and the rest were damaged and battle weary but still functional.

Rebel One also escaped unscathed carrying former Ryndorian Consul Lamara Harke and her team.

Suddenly Kaeon realizes the count is off, Balek watches him as he counts the blips on the scope showing the extraction team.

"Captain the Arawak isn't with us?"

A dreaded feeling runs through Balek as he assumes the Arawak, and the Jedi aboard her, may have been left behind! Suddenly the comm crackles to life with Pomek's voice.

"Pride of the Jedi this is the Asteroid Blaster."

"We read you Pomek, go ahead." Balek says.

"Just in case you were wondering Gleim mentioned he would be dropping out of lightspeed before us to run an important errand." Pomek says.

While Kaeon doesn't follow Balek sighs reassured that the Arawak safe and likely taking the Jedi home.

"Thank you Pomek, when you speak to him again please ask him to pass on Consul Harke's, as well as our thanks to the Jedi." Balek says.

"Copy that Pride."

* * *

 **So if you haven't already guessed I named Commander Rook of the chess piece. Thus the title of this chapter is like that of a chess move. I thought it was pretty cool.**


	37. A Path Chosen

After retrieving what troops were left on the ground Admiral Soelin contacts the Prime Minister of Ryndori to inform him the rebels have been routed. While inclined the leave a garrison on the planet Soelin knows his order could be contradicted given that the planet is not apart of the Empire.

"I appreciate the gesture Admiral but given the fact that those rebels know you where here is likely enough of a deterrent. I don't expect them to be back but I thank you for bringing your service and for showing us who they really were. You have my condolences for those that you lost." Replies the Prime Minister.

"You are probably right, thank you for your cooperation." Soelin replies.

As Soelin and the crew of the Havoc's Cry make ready to jump to hyperspace he issues an order to both Star Destroyers, demanding that any clone that is able to identify either of the Jedi they encountered are to come forward immediately.

Over the next hour Soelin sifts through several reports most of which give the same description of the female human Jedi Soelin suspects is Padawan Jori Kai. Almost every clone is unable to identify the second as they remained cloaked throughout the battle. However he comes across the report from the few surviving troops from Captain Fynner's recon team. Those being the one that Pax ordered down the ascension cable to follow the Jedi. Out of those men three of them claimed that the younger Jedi was female and a Togruta.

"Togruta you say?" Soelin says as he speaks to them in person.

The three clones inform the Admiral that they cannot be sure but given the red skin tone of her face and forearms and extended height of the cloak covering her head they believe so.

"That or she was a Twi'lek." One of the clone adds.

As Soelin walks back to the bridge he begins rummaging through the files on his personal datapad. He'd never heard or seen a red skinned Twi'lek before so he assumes the troopers' claim that the younger of the two Jedi was a Togruta was accurate. As he continues looking through his datapad and comes across the file on Cato Parasitti. He scans through it again and suddenly realizes that the Padawan that apprehended her during the Temple heist was also a Togruta! The only Togruta Jedi he could recall by name was Master Shaak Ti. He checks the report on Cato's apprehension and finds the name Ahsoka Tano listed. Suddenly the name reminds him of something else, he scrolls through more files and almost passes over the one originally brought to his attention by Mepone on the Mirialan Jedi Barriss Offee whom he instructed Cato in impersonate. He scrolls back looking through the file and realizes the Jedi whom Barriss framed for her crimes was none other then the same Togruta.

"Ahsoka Tano, apprentice to General Skywalker." Soelin says to himself.

He remembered Skywalker from the mission to Devaron, he was reckless, unorthodox but he got results. If this cloaked Jedi truly was this Padawan Tano, Lord Vader would likely want this hunt for himself. It was rumored that Vader killed Skywalker himself. Grinning from ear to ear Soelin closes the datapad and quickly returns to the bridge, perhaps now he would ascend to one of the Moff positions. Although the information was good news he was enraged at the thought that she escaped. He knew that would be a disappointment to Vader. As soon as he arrives on the bridge he orders the ship into hyperspace, despite any remaining repairs that needed to be completed.

Several hours as later the Havoc limps back to Coruscant followed by the Krayt's Tooth Soelin orders them to make contact with Lord Vader.

Once he and Mepone are standing in front of the large holo of Vader he gives his full debrief of the last few days events. Including his forces engaging the Jedi.

"I ordered you to keep me informed Admiral." Booms the dark lord's voice.

"I understand my Lord, given our location I had no choice but to reinforce the recon team that discovered the Jedi." Soelin replies.

"And yet you still were unable to defeat them!"

"You have my apologies Lord Vader, however I do have some good news. We identified one of the Jedi as Padawan Jori Kai and I suspect the other . . . . . agh . . . . .aghh"

While taken by surprise Mepone remains at complete attention as he notices the Soelin gasping for breath out of his peripheral vision.

"That is not possible, I killed Padawan Kai myself over a month ago. You have failed me for the last time Admiral!" Vader says snapping his neck through the Force. As the body falls to the floor Vader turns to address Mepone. "Major Mepone."

"Yes Lord Vader?" Mepone replies.

"Once you arrive on Coruscant oversee repairs on the Havoc's Cry. Once completed you will receive a new battle group and new are in command now Admiral Mepone!" Vader states.

"Thank you Lord Vader." Mepone replies as Vader image flickers off. Mepone breathes a sigh filled with relief and yet excitement then looks down at his former superior. "Looks like I got that promotion after all Admiral." he says as she snaps his hands for two clones to remove the body.

* * *

A few hours later once the Arawak arrives over Naboo, Gleim is given landing coordinates for the lake house. As they land Gleim receives a transmission from Pomek stating that he relayed his message to Captain Balek who sends theirs and someone called Consul Harke's thanks to the Jedi.

"Copy that Pomek, I'll tell them. Tell the unit to stick with Balek for now and I'll regroup with you all later." Gleim replies.

"So you joined that Rebellion huh?" Jori says smiling.

Gleim hesitates and with a subtle smile he nods.

"That's good, I'm proud of you Gleim and Ryaan would be too."

"Thanks Jori, I'm glad that you're alright." Gleim says embracing his friend once more.

"I'd love to say I'll see you again but I . . ." Jori is cut off as Gleim anticipates what she's going to say.

"I know . . . you need to remain in exile." Jori gives him a bitter sweet look in response. "It's okay really. I understand what you have to do." Gleim says as he opens the port hatch. "I really hope you find peace here kid."

Jori thanks him again, says goodbye to Xafus and the droids then exits the ship.

"One more thing Gleim . . . ." she says as she hands him a piece of flimsi with a set of coordinates on it. ". . . .that is the location on Dantooine where Ranik burned Ryaan's funeral pyre. I thought you'd want to know, maybe now you can have the chance to say your goodbyes to him personally." Gleim sheds a small tear and wipes away as he says thank you.

"Who knows Gleim, perhaps one day when the Republic is restored maybe we'll see each other again." Jori adds.

"I'll buy the first round kid." Gleim says smiling.

"May the Force be with you Gleim." Jori says turning to Ahsoka and noticing her vacant stare. "Let's go . . . Snips."

"Wait, I'm not staying Jori." Ahsoka finally says.

"What?"

Ahsoka nervously looks at Gleim then back at Jori and walks towards her.

"Ahsoka what are you talking about?"

"I think the Force is guiding me to something different, something other than exile. I don't know how to explain it but I feel I'm meant for something more important than that."

"Ah . . . Ahsoka," Jori says not knowing what else to say. She thinks hard on Master Yoda's words before she left Dagobah.

" _Forge her own path from here she must, not ready to know about the fate her master suffered_."

Jori closes her eyes delving into the Force for a moment as she senses clarity that Ahsoka if following the right path.

"I don't want to see you go, it's been nice having a friend around . . . " Jori says smiling. "but I understand what you have to do. May the Force be with you Ahsoka Tano."

Ahsoka stifles a tear from forming as she embraces her friend tightly.

"You too Jori, I'll miss you." Ahsoka says turning to face Gleim. "Can you give me a ride?"

"Sure thing." Gleim replies then looks back at Jori. "If you ever get too bored with exile you know how to find us."

Jori smiles and says, "Don't count on it."

He closes the hatch as Ahsoka steps back aboard the Arawak; seconds later it lifts off the ground and heads space-wards.

Jori lets out a deep breath of relief sensing through the Force that she has no reason to worry for Ahsoka. She watches as the Arawak disappears into the horizon then walks back to the lake house.

"So where to kid?" Gleim says realizing that term doesn't quite apply to Jori anymore.

"Whose you're contact in the Rebellion?" Ahsoka asks.

"Major Garan."

"Take me to him." Ahsoka replies.

"You got it, so is your name really Snips?"

"It was once, my master used to call me that." Ahsoka says staring out the viewport reflecting on the past, wondering what became of Anakin and embracing her unknown future.

"So what do I call you?" Gleim asks.

After a long pause to extend her senses into the Force Ahsoka finally says, "Call me Fulcrum."

* * *

 **I had a lot of fun re-writing this book, everything regarding Ahsoka came out better than my original draft which saw her facing down Vader. Now that I've kept it in line with the continuity I can't wait to see that on Rebels! Obviously she's now heard the name Darth Vader from Jori but doesn't know anything about him so there's no reason for her to suspect anything at this point. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, Epilogue will be uploaded soon! Please review, appreciate the feedback.**


	38. Epilogue

On Coruscant Vader reports to Emperor Palpatine in person to inform him of Soelin's failure over Ryndori and the orders issued to his replacement, Admiral Mepone.

Enraged that this band of rebels are becoming increasingly troublesome he asks Vader if the planet in question could be aligned with the rebellion.

"Soelin didn't believe so, he stated that it's leaders were more than cooperative when they learned of their guests true intentions." Vader replies.

"I sense you are troubled my friend." Palpatine says.

"There is something else, Soelin claimed one of the Jedi was Padawan Kai."

"He must have been mistaken. However I do sense there is more going on than we know on Ryndori."

"Shall I assign a permanent garrison to the planet?" Vader asks.

"No, not at this time. It is beyond our borders so for now we must concentrate our efforts on the worlds under our rule. However we will keep our eyes on Ryndori." Palpatine says. "At such time if we learn they are allied with the rebellion we will exact our vengeance on them then. Now to more important business, the first of our new Imperial Class Star Destroyers will come out of production within the next year." Palpatine says displaying the holo of the much larger destroyer as well as designs for new fighters, weapons, uniforms, etc. "They will be the first in a long line of things to come to represent the might of the Empire! The second vessel out of production will be called the Exactor and will serve as your flagship."

"Thank you, my Master." Vader replies.

* * *

The next day after Soelin and his ships left Ryndori the Prime Minister makes contact with the Rebellion to thank them for their efforts to keep them disassociated in the Empire's eyes.

Standing alongside the Prime Minister are Representative Fogan and General Marin. As before Colonel Rieekan and Senator Taneel are present in the transmission, patched in from Chandrila; from the Utapau base alongside the image of Major Garan are Commander Kesaro, Consul Harke and the Brath Brothers.

At first it seemed that Ryndori's leader was going to withdraw their support since they were discovered so soon after meeting with Taneel. However as he continued to speak the Alliance members realized that the Prime Minister intended to honor his word for their allegiance.

"I will be honest when I first met Senator Taneel I thought you were just after the means and the money to fight your civil war on your own. However after you warned us of the Imperial presence nearby and seeing your pilots, your troops, your men and women of all different races lay down their lives for us . . . for our home. I am convinced now more than ever that your cause is just. We must band together to help each other and the galaxy from the tyranny of the Empire. Ryndori would be honored to join the Alliance."

"Prime Minister you have our condolences for those lost to Ryndori but we thank you for your pledge to the Alliance." Taneel says.

"I thank you Senator Taneel, we are honored to call you our friends as well as allies." The Prime Minister replies. "Major Garan, I would like to commend you on your efforts; your plan went off almost without a hitch."

"Almost Sir?" Garan says curiously.

The Prime Minister explains that while he understood and supported General Marin's order for their fighters to pose as Rebels to assist Fleet Commander Balek the only thing that worries him now is that Ryndori has nothing to defend her. The Sabre's cannot return to Ryndori, if the Empire found out everything would be undone and they would be right back to square one.

Garan informs him he has already spoken in great detail about that with Commander Kesaro and Lady Harke. And while they haven't quite figured out the details yet they plan to setup a watch post or roving patrols to keep eyes on Ryndori, more importantly on any Imperial activity within the sector.

However Garan is shocked when the Prime Minister advises him not to claiming if they are to appear disassociated with with the Rebellion there can be no rebel presence in the area.

"I hereby donate our T-55 fighters to the cause of the Alliance to Restore the Republic." says the Prime Minister. "Commander Kesaro, I'm assigning you into the capable hands of Colonel Rieekan and Major Garan. You will brief our pilots on the situation and inform them of our mission."

"Yes Sir." Kesaro says beaming with pride.

"Colonel Rieekan, I trust when the war permits you will allow our pilots to return home from time to time if they so wish." says the Prime Minister.

"You have my word." Rieekan replies.

"Very good, then I think we are done here for today."

"May the Force be with you and with Ryndori." adds Taneel.

Sometime after the meeting Balek is giving his full debrief to Garan personally. As he is dismissed back to the Pride Balek hesitates for a moment asking about the specific order to not overly target the Krayt's Tooth during the battle.

Garan explains the reason was two fold; the first being that Admiral Soelin retreated to the Havoc's Cry and that the death of such a high profile target was considered a win to the rebellion. Garan explains that the second reason was that they still have one undercover operative left in Soelin's battle group and they are serving aboard the Krayt's Tooth. He further explains that Rieekan didn't want to pull their last pair of eyes and ears out just yet and that the operative still has six months left before he rotates off the ship. Until then their man will keep a low profile and gather as much intel as possible.

* * *

In the days following the battle on Ryndori Zaniel Brath was reassigned to Major Garan, however at the request of Senator Taneel he was given a short leave of absence. He spent those days on Ryndori where his brother Zapheal took him to meet their mother, arriving on an unmarked two-man shuttle. Zaphael piloted a speeder to his mother's residence, once there he walked in and greeted her himself then stepped aside to reveal the nearly identical figure standing behind him. He introduced his mother to her long lost son and vice versa, she immediately took Zaniel in her arms and was brought to tears by the reunion. Zaniel spent the duration of his leave at his mother's home getting to know her and Zaphael as they traded stories about each others lives. Zaniel soon learned that he was indeed born on Ryndori, while duty would eventually call upon him to return to the Rebellion it was the most joyous occasion he could remember.

Meanwhile on Ryndori, although issuing instructions via holo-transmission from Utapau, the former Consul Lamara Harke had her family's estate liquidated and officially re-adopted her title of Lady. Her father was a wealthy noble of Ryndori in years past, lending his advice to the office of the Prime Minister many times; which was how Lamara gained her position in the consulate. Once the funds from her assets were transferred she donated a large portion to the rebellion and joined up.

She wasn't sure what she would be doing for the Alliance but she was happy to see Yaren, her trusted friend and bodyguard, and Cale Webt volunteer by her side requesting to be part of her team. Sgt. Allard was assigned to take her through an impromptu boot camp for a couple of weeks before she took on her first assignment.

* * *

While the early stages of the Rebel fleet had been battered during the fight, they were sent to Mon Calamari where they were repaired as well as re-complimented by more N-1's from Naboo. While on the oceanic planet Captain Balek learned that the Mon Cals had already begun construction on six capital warships as well as other smaller vessels. The secret was easily kept from the Empire's watchful eyes as the construction took place at one of the Mon Cal's underwater manufacturing sites and the planet was located near the outer rim. Balek reported this information to Garan, who was already aware, but was eager to see their completion.

* * *

When the Arawak returns to Utapau Gleim notices the sinkhole base is quite crowded with so many having arrived from the battle on Ryndori. At the Jedi's insistence she remains on the ship as Gleim flies into the base to find Garan.

"Gleim I'm quite busy, what do you need to show me?"

At the Toydarian's urging that it is an important matter Garan submits and discreetly follows him back to the Arawak. When he steps aboard he notices the young Togruta wearing a cloak with a lightsaber just barely showing on her hip.

"You were the other Jedi helping Padawan Kai." Garan says a little shocked that she didn't return to exile with Jori.

"Master Kai, she's a Knight now."

"I see, what can I do for you?"

"It's what I can do for you, I'm here to join up however I have one stipulation." Ahsoka says. "I must remain in hiding, only a select few can see my face or know who I really am."

"Then this is not the place for you." Garan says stroking his chin pondering the situation. ". . . . but there is someone I can put you in contact with."

After stepping back off the ship Garan arranges a transport to meet the young Jedi in the mid rim and take her safely to her destination. Gleim would have volunteered to take the Jedi all the way but he knew the Empire was aware of his ship and her role in the rebellion, besides there was another Jedi he needed to see.

The next day the Arawak docks with another rebel freighter somewhere in the mid rim. As Ashoka steps into the docking hatch she offers Gleim her thanks. The ship separates from the Arawak a moment later and shortly thereafter jumps into hyperspace headed for Alderaan.

Before returning to Utapau for his next assignment Gleim piloted the Arawak to the coordinates on Dantooine that Jori had given him. He set down the ship and asked Xafus and the droids to remain on onboard. He easily found the spot where the pyre had been burned, he took a moment and said his farewell to his fallen friend. After a few moments he boarded the Arawak never to return to Dantooine again.

* * *

Jori Kai would live in solitude on Naboo for almost a year but would be forced to abandon her new home in search for another. As soon as she learned of the Imperial occupation at Theed she escaped on the Hunter's Arrow, the ship that belonged to the Kel-Dor bounty hunter that attacked them.

After disposing of the bounty hunter's body and reprogramming his droid, Jori and Ahsoka had hid the ship at the bottom of the lake.

One day while working in the garden Jori noticed a lone Kaadu approaching the lake. When she looked closer she noticed the animal was not domesticated. Figuring it belonged to someone she rode the animal towards the nearest village many miles south of her homestead. The next day when she arrived she was unable to find anyone to claim ownership of the Kaadu. Sensing the Force was guiding her here for some reason she remained in the village for a few hours before heading back. As she perused the small marketplace she noticed a vendor with a small holonet receiver. She remained at a distance appearing to search a pile of Jogan fruit for the best one but kept her ear on the news reports coming from the holonet.

Once she heard the _unconfirmed_ report stating that Queen Apailana has been harboring a small band of Jedi in Theed Jori immediately planned to travel there and greet the surviving Jedi, as well as pull them out of the public spotlight. However she turned the Kaadu back once she saw the massively large new Star Destroyer in the atmosphere dispatching strange looking new fighters and a legion of the 501st to the city!

Jori quickly returned to the lake retreat via the Kaadu and used the Force to summon the Hunter's Arrow from the bottom of the lake. Without Ahsoka there to help the feat nearly exhausted her, she collapsed on the ground and was forced to rest momentarily before she was ready to move again. She planted a mental suggestion in the Kaadu's mind to return to the village they visited yesterday, took what she could from the house, boarded the ship and made her escape from Naboo. Within hours she'd learned through the holonet, via the ship's receiver, that Queen Apailana had been assassinated and the Jedi revolt had been put down. With the Empire's occupation of Naboo she foresaw the dark side growing ever stronger. She would wander the galaxy for weeks looking for a safe place to remain in exile.

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone who has been following the story, would love more feedback so please review. FYI: I already have an outline written for the third and final book but will probably not start writing it until after the new year.**


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